#top 10 beauty tips in lockdown

[creanativebeauty-blog]

Lockdown is that the time we will make most out of it by doing something productive and what is often better than manicure does. This point one can work inside out with these top 10 beauty tips in lockdown. First, is the Use “Homarket” product meaning a mixture of home-made products and market-brought products? Don’t overuse products because it may reverse the sweetness treatment. Maintain a healthy lifestyle to urge the simplest out of it. Take morning sunbath for a minimum of 10 minutes to urge obviate infections and bacteria. Do manicure reception with DIYs but consistent with your skin type. Pamper your hand and legs also. Cure your Nails damaged thanks to sanitizer. Get the assistance of a massage. Do mediation a day. Drink 10-15 glasses of water.

[tabbycasto]

Nail Tech Talk : Top Tips For Setting Up In An Unconventional Space

Setting up can be a little daunting when you first start out, but it doesn’t take long to start building your collection & creating a space that you're happy with. When I started to set up my treatment room, I began by creating a mood board to figure out the aesthetics & practicality of the room. I love to use Pinterest to get my visual ideas out and have mood boards for things like Storage Ideas, Pedicure Set Up and design inspo.

Once you’ve figured out the style you're after you can start to figure out how to make it come to life. Everything takes time and you’ll find sometimes it’s not until you’ve actively worked in a space that you can truly see what you need to change & adjust to make the space really work best for you. It's a work in progress that grows with you as you develop new skills. Don't feel that everything has to be done at once.

My Treatment Room aesthetic is kitsch, plant adorned & bright. I try to keep things fun, but tidy and cozy for clients. I’m not a "normal salon space", but that’s one of the reasons my clients like to come to me. I don’t try to make the room do something it can’t do, I just work with what I can.

Storage

Storage is really important, especially as it can actually save you time if you keep yourself well organized. I really love easy access storage so that I can grab things quickly and not waste time looking around for products.

Nail Polish/ Gel Polish Storage 

I originally started out with both the long and short Ikea Alex drawers. These are great if you are just starting out and don't have too much product as they provide a lot of storage space, but if you are like me and tend to have a lot of product (I do makeup as well as nails), I’d recommend going for better quality drawers with more side supports than Ikea. My Alex drawers lasted about 3 years before I had to replace them with a similar Tallboy Style Drawer which I found on sale at La Redoute. My advice would be to spend a little extra on furniture if you can so that you don't have to replace it in future.

Ikea Picture Shelves are also a great way to display polish/gel colours on your walls, but they will need dusting regularly which is why I prefer to use the tallboy style drawers. I tend to use the Picture Shelves to create a "gallery wall" where I display framed art and photos, but these would be great for displaying certifications and awards as well.

Glitter/Diamonte/Dried Flower Storage

I invested some time decanting all my glitters, diamantés and dried nail art flowers into clear acrylic lidded jars which sit in clear boxes (labelled on the bottom) so I can showcase colours more easily to clients rather than rummaging through boxes. Clear Acrylic storage is great as you can see when things are running low and need topping up. I tend to separate these into colour sections keeping like colours together. Ebay, Amazon, Hobby Craft & Muji are great for finding these kind of clear acrylic storage solutions.

Wire Storage

I keep wires under control with a wire tidy box also from Ikea to reduce tripping hazards and keep the room looking tidy. As I do a lot of filming in the room, I do have quite a few different wires for various things, anything that doesn't fit into the Ikea Wire Tidy, when not in use, gets stored in Ikea Rattan/Wicker Storage Boxes and slotted away in my Ikea Kallax. I label the different plugs with a Dymo Label Machine so I don't get things confused. 

How To Display Your Nail Art Professionally

I love nail art and have a lot of nail tips left over from content creating and old Pop Up Nail Bar menus. I was looking for a way to showcase these to clients and discovered a really cool Nail Art Display Box on Ebay which looks very professional. You can change the display every season or theme each clear pull out frame to your liking. With so many ideas and options available this is a great way to break it down visually for customers. Here is a break down on how to start yours (links to where to find it are in the description box) :

https://youtu.be/F5Yzousncqg

Pedicure Set Up

I recently started offering pedicures again and needed to create a cozy pedicure space that could easily be put away when not in use.  As I don’t have laminate flooring, I had a custom size floor matte made to protect my rug and carpet area from splashes and mess  by https://www.floormats.co.uk . When not in use, this slots away under a sofa and easily pulls out when I need it again. It's also easy to wipe down and keep disinfected.

Instead of using a storage trolly to display Pedicure Products (as my room is carpeted which wouldn’t be practical), I keep my bottles and sprays on trays on top of a wooden stool. I have 2 different trays which I alternate with the two systems I use, Footlogix & Famous Names Releaf. * Nail techs use my discount code TABBY10 for 10% off these brands and more on the Louella Belle site.

I purchased  my concrete pink/white tray to display my Footlogix products from Etsy Seller JustSoDesignbyRachel (https://etsy.me/37c1csl ) who had to adapt when first lockdown hit & set up a shop selling hand made beautiful concrete items. Where I can, I love to shop with and support smaller businesses & fellow nail artists.

To display my Famous Names Releaf I went for a more rustic looking tray from Dunelm which suits the natural ethos of the system : https://www.dunelm.com/product/wooden-tray-craftland-1000167605?defaultSkuId=30696657

For a leg rest/foot rest, I use a foldable stool from Amazon with customised vinyl material that can be disinfected. I found out about the stool from a fellow nail tech on the Footlogix Facebook Group ! The vinyl I reupholstered the stool with came from Etsy Shop HomeTexStudio (https://etsy.me/2JJlRsb). The height is just right for my set up, not for everyone I’m sure , but for the space I work with it’s perfect. Here’s a video of the DIY stool transformation :

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CHGFgx6D6EY/?utm_medium=copy_link

I use Belava Pedi Bowls with recyclable disposable liners for my pedicures as I love glitter & they really go with my room's aesthetic! I think customers also feel much better knowing each time they visit they get a fresh pedi liner. The Belava Glitter bowls do come with a disinfectable insert, but I prefer to use the disposables as I feel it reassures customers that my hygiene standards go above and beyond, especially in these times.

I use an IKEA rattan stool to sit on when doing pedicures and my clients sit on a large sofa chair which allows them to really relax and decompress. After each client, I disinfected the soft furnishing with Sursol Fabric Disinfecting Spray as removing all soft furnishings was not an option for me.

Retail Items

As my set up has less surface space than a traditional salon space, I show off the products I retail on my shorter Ikea Alex Drawers & Ikea Kallax shelves. I try to keep displays and clutter to a minimum as every surface gets wiped down and disinfected before/after each client. In keeping with the aesthetics of my room, I display my products in small wooden boxes and clear acrylic shelves.

The Work Table

My work table is the area of my room that gets the most use. I use it as a work space for not just my nail clients, but also to film and create nail tutorials and content. Unlike many techs, my work table is a little wider than usual which is not for everyone, but works well for me. I have the Ikea Nordan Gateleg Table which has 6 storage drawers down the middle and two sides which can fold down. I use the Clear Ikea Skvallra Desk Protector to keep it free of any accidents and spills. To add a little personality to the space I alternate Paperchase Wrapping Paper which I find very fun and colourful under the Desk Protector, these make great backdrops for nail art photos as well. To get the best out of my nail art photos I use the Ikea Tertial Lamp with a Day Light bulb which I find works well as a work lamp and for photography purposes.

I keep my tools tidy with a custom made Jesmonite tray which I had commissioned by a fellow nail tech ( @bylaurajayne_jesmonitedesigns). It matches my room aesthetic and keeps things nice and tidy when I'm working. I tend to sterilize my tools in my Enbio Auto Clave and then place them on my tray ready for use! If you haven't seen her trays do check them out ! They are the perfect size for nail techs as she makes both rectangle long trays and smaller square trays so there is plenty of room for everything. I think displaying nail tools on the work table like this also gives the tools a bit of respect and helps you to look after them, after all they are probably your most used items and I think it's nice to look after them well so it's just fitting to display them proudly and with a bit of care and thought!

I recently purchased a new hand rest from @gb.wrist.rests. This has been a real game changer as it definitely improves the posture for both myself and my clients when working. Previous to this I had been using an Ikea Wooden laptop holder, which worked well for a couple of years, but over time the disinfectant began to wear down the varnish and I felt it was time to invest in something better. It was also great to support another fellow nail tech who started the GB Wrist Rests business up with her partner during lockdown.

Dust Control

To control dust, I have the Zephyros Dust Collection from Tafs. I find this works really well for keeping the space tidy and protecting mine and my clients lungs. I tend to work more with soak off systems and don't currently e-file so this works well for me. I would recommend getting a more powerful Air Purifier for busier salons working more regularly with enhancements.

Sterilisation

In the corner of my room I store my Enbio S Auto Clave which is used to sterilize tools after they have been washed, then disinfected. I store this on an Ikea Alex Cupboard which doubles up as a storage space for all my cleaning products and spare nail files etc. The Auto Claves are not cheap, but one of the best investments in my Treatment Room. I think customers feel more reassured and I certainly feel better using one. Nail techs can use my code TABBY to get money off their purchases at https://www.enbio.com/uk/

My greatest advice for anyone new to the industry or just starting to set up would be take it a bit at a time. We all have to work within budgets and as you gain clients and get busier you will be able to afford to work your way up towards a space that suits you. I spent many years working as a mobile freelancer before building up a client base that comes to me. It's also worth noting that your own health and client health is so important. Consider the comfort of both of you when creating your space - make sure you are looking after skin and lungs. Protect your hands with gloves when you work to avoid over exposure and make sure you  protecting your lungs from dust particles, but most of all have fun creating a space that suits you!

[dansnaturepictures]

4/4/21-Easter Sunday part 2 of 2: Lymington walk (Swallow, Sandwich Tern, Spotted Redshank and more) 10 more different pictures in this photoset to those I tweeted tonight 

We then this afternoon came to the same nature reserve that we came to yesterday, instead of the Pennington part of the site (Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve) the Lymington or Normandy lagoon/marshes end. This was great to come here again guided by a bird we were trying to see both days which we did not and it meant we had really walked most of the coastal path within the reserve in two days the only bits we didn’t touch was the first bits of Keyhaven yesterday and the same for the real first bits of the Lymington walk today but we certainly coveted most of it. We have only walked from one end to the other from Lymington to Keyhaven and back once before. I took the first three and sixth, seventh and ninth pictures in this photoset of beautiful views here today.

And as the places looked so beautiful and serenely blue drenched in the sunshine we were so lucky to have again it was very similar to yesterday with the birds we saw with many Avocets that it was a true delight and honour to see with some really special views, Shelduck, some straggling Brent Geese and others all frequent sightings this afternoon. By contrast in Normandy lagoon and the water by the bridge and gates especially there were many Black-tailed Godwits again for me lately with most of them looking exquisite and very beautiful in their bronzed brown summer plumage they really were so appealing and lovely to look at a special few moments to see them. I took the fifth picture in this photoset of one and there were another two I tweeted on Dans_Pictures one I made into a “Where’s Wally” type picture as it was a whole group of them together most of them with heads on their back. I took a picture and wanted just one bird with its beak visible and for this one there was but it was actually a lone Redshank with them all. We also saw a great deal of Spotted Redshanks a key bird for this part of the reserve a stronghold for them I tweeted a picture of one of those too, we got some top views of their bright, shining, distinctive and impressive scarlet, grey and black markings we got some great up close views of them today. I also adored as we did a couple of weeks back seeing the iconic Lapwing in flight driving right over our heads, not only screaming their delightful “pee-wit” call which gives them another of their names but we heard the almost sonic boom-eque drum of their wings beating surrounding us as it passed over a a sensational natural experience. Also known as the green plover and right at home as one of my stars of an amazing wildlife and photography Easter weekend which was especially a memorable one for plovers. I also enjoyed seeing the flowers shown in the fourth picture in this photoset, more lovely gorse in bloom all over the place shown in the eighth picture in this photoset and some fumitory not a flower I had ever noticed before which I loved seeing and tweeted a picture of. 

As we walked on I was thrilled to spot a Swallow flying over it was in a group and we saw others as the walk went on. My first of the year and always one of the most crucial year ticks in spring my second hurundine in as many days and this year at this reserve it was so great to see them. It became probably my best ever day for seeing Swallows for the first time in a year I think with rather than the usual one a very decent few seen and some very close really getting to make our their fairly exotic colours and strong features with those iconic long tale streamers it was the perfect place for it. The saying “one swallow does not a summer make” seems apt today with the apparent imminent plunge into lower temperatures.

But my second hurundine of the year has now been a year tick for me on Easter Sunday three times after 2015 and 2018 and I saw my first of 2020 a year ago today alongside my first Orange Tip and Comma butterflies of 2020 on a lockdown walk along the river Itchen where I was on Tuesday so (whilst I obviously know Easter Sundays fall on different dates each year) a Swallow was expected about now and I was so thrilled and pleased to see them today. That’s ten year ticks in three days now taking my year list to 129 now level with how many I had seen at this stage in 2017 making my year list the joint fourth highest a year list of mine had been on on this date behind the past three years which I am so thrilled with my year list is booming so much. The only time I remember anything like this happening with the amount of year ticks in quick succession in spring so not the first days and weeks of the year in winter with so many birds to see was on the first May bank holiday of 2014 at RSPB Weymouth’s Radipole Lake and Lodmoor reserves in Dorset where I got ten year ticks in a day which is always notable to see when comparing current year lists to past ones so this will live so long in the memory too.

As we walked on I loved seeing a bold and large Sandwich Tern dash over us fishing over the sea. It flew up the coast and flew back round again, a brilliant showing and this was a fantastic fresh nautical moment. It wasn’t a year tick as one of the best moments of my week off in January was catching an overwintering one on a coastal walk just before my birthday. But this was my first summer plumage one of the year with the jet black feathers on its head going so sweetly with the bright yellow tip of the black beak I always find. I had hoped to sneak a tern today Lymington is so good for them. I reflected when seeing this at how much this reserve and generally Sandwich Terns have become easier for us to see the past few years. There was a time when it wasn’t a given we would see one so easily in a year or at least not within our real regular haunts (in normal times) perhaps. But the last few years we have seen delightfully so much of this B list favourite bird of mine and I love that. I really liked spotting this one today.

 As we walked on back I liked seeing an Oystercatcher wading in noticeable deep mud which I also tweeted a picture of, Meadow Pipit really well too shown in the tenth and final picture in this photoset and we got cracking views and heard their wonderful call so loudly of smashing Skylarks too which was fantastic. A memorable and very enjoyable Easter Sunday today with some very enjoyable and productive time this morning at home too. I hope you all had a good one.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Swallow of the year, three of my favourite birds the Shelduck, Brent Goose and Little Egret, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Sandwich Tern, Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Avocet, Turnstone, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, so many Teals, Shoveler, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Robin, a couple of butterflies flying so quickly I couldn’t quite see what they were but likely Small Tortoiseshell or Peacock and it was great to hear Mediterranean Gulls so well again.

[miaswetnambcu]

Brand Group Meeting 2

Our second brand meeting was based around finalising our original ideas as well as establishing a customer profile.

Our first point was to decide a name for our brand. Our first idea being the name ‘Sensuell’ which means voluptuous in Norwegian. As the word would be pronounced as the English word ‘sensual’, we thought it would work as a double meaning for the brand name. However, our brand does not hold any link to Norway and it would not make sense to use a Norwegian word for the name of our brand. 

Our second idea was Curvé. The idea was derived from the word curve and as our products are aimed at curvy women, we though it would be fitting. We added the accent on the end of the ‘e’ so that it is pronounced as ‘curvay’, which makes it sound more luxurious. Also, the word curve on its own is not very interesting and wouldn’t draw people into our brand. 

We decided to do a mood board surrounding the colours we are going to use for our products. Our initial idea was black with some nude shades as well. Both of these compliment each other and will work for many different skin tones for our customer. For a statement piece, we chose a lilac colour. We chose this colour as it is a soft colour that will flatter most body types and skin tones, as well as it being a very wearable colour.

Our design inspiration was found on plus-size models that showcase different styles of clothing. We decided our outfit ideas were going to consist of one dress, one skirt and top co-ord and one trousers, top and blazer set. The products from the sets would be able to buy separately, as well as being able to choose the sizes for each individual item if they were to be bought as the set. Figure-hugging silhouettes is the main idea, with some corset style elements into the garments. 

Our social media is based around the same colour theme as our products, which is black, nudes and lilac. The Instagram posts will be centered around plus-size women with various body shapes. This is to ensure that all types of plus-size people are included in our brand and so that each customer is able to find someone showcasing the same body type as them on our page. This should make the customer feel more included and accepted into the brand to improve our customer engagement. 

Once we had established these elements, we decided to create a customer profile. We chose to do this to ensure we are aware of what our customers likes and dislikes and can hopefully portray this through out brand outcomes. 

The ideal customer we created was 22 year old woman, either a post-graduate or in her last year of uni. The customer would live in the main part of a city such as Manchester or Liverpool. She is a size 18 and is very active on her social media by constantly checking her timelines and liking other people’s posts. She would be likely to follow some sort of plus-sized model such as Ashley Graham, as well as other influencers such as Kylie Jenner or Molly-Mae. We decided she would most likely follow these possibly look for tips for make-up and hair. In contrast, she may follow these people as she would like to look or dress like them, but cannot find the right clothes to do so. This is where our brand is needed, as it would give people like her the opportunity to wear clothes like Kylie Jenner to make her feel just as beautiful.

To look further into customers and a current need for our brand, we decided to create a survey to look into these aspects. 

The first question on the survey was for the person to state their age. The responses ranged from 17- 27 year olds, which is close of our age range of 20-30 year olds. This indicated the results would be in significant relation to our brand. 

The second question was centered around people’s plans when we are out of lockdown. 27.7% said a restaurant or pub and 23.1% said they would go to a bar or club. This equates to just under 50% of people on the quiz saying they would go to the places where our clothing range is most likely to be seen. This idicates that there is a need for our brand in the near future. However, this question was slightly misleading as our brand is for when we are out of the current pandemic, not lockdown. This lead to there being such a high percentage saying they would stay home. If we were to do this quiz again, we would have to alter this question to be more specific. 

Our next question posed as to whether the person would buy new clothes for this. It is split quite evenly on both sides. This may reflect the previous question as around 50% said they would go to a bar or a pub. Those 50% would most likely say yes to this question, with the other 50% saying no.

The next question was based around the brands that people tend to shop at. 23 people said ASOS and 8 said Zara. Pretty Little Thing was said 7 times, with House of CB and Missguided mentioned 3 times each. Most of these brands have a similar price range, which could help us to asses the market for price. ASOS has multiple brands on their platform so their price range varies between each one. House of CB sits slightly higher on the price range than other like Pretty Little Thing and Missguided.

The people or things that influence people’s fashion choices was asked in the next question. 27 people stated some form of social media, such as Instagram and Tik Tok. Friends was the second most popular with 5 people stating it, as well as catwalk fashion being said by 2 people. This gives us insight as to how to promote our brand, with social media being the obvious choice.

Our next question was based around the price range that people would pay for a dress. We decided to include this in the survey as it would give us a rough margin as to how much people will pay. 54% said £0-£30, with £28.6% saying £30-£50. This indicates that 82.6% of people in this survey would only pay up to £50. This is something we will have to take into consideration when planning our pricing for our products. 

The last question on the survey asked what the person would wear on a ‘night-out’. 49.2% said jeans and a nice top, with 9.2% saying a dress and 7.7% saying a co-ord. This shows that there is a market for the products that we decided to make.

After the meeting, I decided to interview someone who was previously plus-size to see if our brand is needed in the market. Paige was a size 20 when she was age 20. She displayed her stress to me regarding her weight and the clothing that was available to her at that time.

I explained our brand identity to her, which is to make plus-size women feel beautiful and confident in their bodies. I added that our brand is a party/eveningwear brand for plus-size women with products such as dresses and co-ords. After I explained our brand to her, she said that she “needed a brand like that” when she was that size.

According to Paige, the clothing that was available to her was not made for her age and were made for people upwards of 40. With her only being age 20, the clothes were obviously not her style and would not have made her feel confident when wearing them. She showed me a picture of her at a party where she wore a blue leopard print dress. The dress was obviously not something that a 20 year old would usually wear to a party as the dress seemed to be made of a thick cotton and was not very flattering on her figure. Although she could not remember where she got the dress from, she stated that it was not from a standard high street store like New Look or H&M. She said it was more likely to be from a brand like Evans. Evans is a plus-size clothing brand in the UK that stocks sizes from 14-32. The standard customer for Evans would be women 50+, which Paige is not part of. The dress she wore to the party did not make her feel beautiful or confident and she even felt the need to wear two pairs of fat pants and a pair of shaping tights underneath the dress. She said that even though she wore these shaping garments underneath, she still did not feel confident in the dress and though that it did flatter her figure. 

The way she described this is exactly why we wanted to create a plus-size partywear brand. She was unable to find any dress that she thought was flattering on her body, and even the dress she chose to wear did not make her feel beautiful and confident. Our brand is centered around making plus-size women feel empowered and confident enough in themselves to wear our garments. People like Paige are exactly the target market we are looking for and this interview reinforces the fact that a brand like ours is needed in the fashion industry. 

Paige eventually lost a lot of weight and dropped from a size 20 to a size 10. She stated that even though she has lost a lot of weight, she still does not feel confident in her body. She said that this was because she was unable to build that confidence when she was younger as the clothes that were available to her did not make her feel good about herself. Paige could not build her confidence up when most people do as she did not have the resources to do so, and had to resort to feeling uncomfortable in any piece of clothing she wore. Although clothing brand make clothes in her size, they did not make clothes for her size, which led to them being unflattering on her body. The picture above shows this, as although the clothes do physically fit on her body, they were not made for the structure of her body, leading to the proportions seen on the top and the shorts not fitting as well on her body as it would on a smaller sized person. As our products will be made to fit a curvy body, this will not be a problem for our customers.

[easterncurvegarden]

Tulip time at Dalston Curve Garden 

We are obsessed with tulips - we just can’t get enough of this gorgeous flower, in all its shapes and sizes and glorious colours. Last Spring we were broken-hearted that, because of the lockdown, visitors couldn’t see our annual display, although we did cut them to give away in bouquets to people who needed cheering up. Last Autumn we planted even more bulbs than usual, with even more varieties, for flowering this Spring. And what a display our tulips have given visitors this year! It’s been so hard to choose the 10 photos that our blog limits us to, so look out for our follow-up blog, where we’ll focus on late-flowering varieties.  

You don’t have to have a garden to plant tulips - all of ours at the Curve Garden are planted in containers, including recycled tins. We’re sharing some of our favourites, the combinations we love, and notes on how we plant them here, so you can make a note for ordering later in the year.  In the Autumn we’ll be sharing lots of advice and tips on planting tulips and other Spring-flowering bulbs. 

Tulips are divided into 15 ‘groups’ based on flowering times, shape and other characteristics. You don’t need to know anything about these groups, but we’re mentioning them here as it can help you work out what you like, for when you are faced with thousands of different varieties to choose from in online plant catalogues. 

Tulipa ‘Abu Hassan’, the first tulip pictured here, is one of our all-time favourites. It’s goblet-shaped, with deep mahogany-red petals, edged in gold and is stunning when the sun shines through. We love its glamour, and hint of mystery. ‘Abu Hassan’ is categorised in the mid-season ‘Triumph’ group of tulips. This year they started opening up here in mid-April and have just finished flowering. 

We���ve grown Tulipa ‘Flaming Purissima’, from the ‘Fosteriana’ group, for several years now. It has beautiful large pale creamy-pink flowers with petals ‘flamed’ with red. We plant them in large pots packed closely together, as they look best en masse, and so that you can notice the variety in their colouring, ranging from creamy pink to red. They look like they’ve been hand-painted in watercolour and remind us of ‘Raspberry Ripple’ ice-cream.

Tulipa ‘Spring Green’, in the Viridiflora group, has a tall, strong stem, and elegant creamy white flowers, with a ‘flame’ of green. It acts as a perfect ‘foil’ to other tulips, especially dark ones like ‘Queen of the Night’ or ‘Abu Hassan’, as pictured here. 

We don’t plant tulips directly into the ground at the Curve Garden, but rather in pots and containers so that as one variety finishes its flowering period, we can remove it and replace with pots of later-flowering tulips to take their place in the spotlight. This rotation of pots can go on for up to six to eight weeks, from late March to mid-May, depending on the weather. We then transplant this years ‘spent’ tulips into large plastic pots which are left to go dormant at the back of the garden. In the Autumn we plant new bulbs into the clay pots to ensure a magnificent display next Spring. 

The delicate little Lady Tulip, Tulipa clusiana ‘Cynthia’, was one of the first wild tulips to be introduced into Europe from Central Asia. We love their ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ colouring and plant them in tins and planters, where they look lovely alongside the blues of Muscari and Nepeta. 

Tulipa Bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ is one of the earliest tulips to flower at the Curve Garden, normally in March. Its leaves are bright green and a little waxy in texture and each stem bears a single bell-shaped lilac flower. It was first discovered in the mountains of Crete in the late 1800s. We plant them in tins or small clay pots and place them on tables, so they can be enjoyed from above.  

We planted Tulipa ‘Concerto’ for the first time into one of our beautiful large ceramic pots. It has creamy-white petals, and when they open wide to the sun, they reveal a yellow base with a black centre. 

With tulips the focus is all on the flower, but with Tulipa ‘Red Riding Hood’ you do get the advance bonus of blue-green leaves, beautifully streaked with deep red. This lovely little red tulip, just 30cm tall, is in the Greigii group of tulips.

Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ is up there in our top three tulips. It’s in the ‘Lily-flowered’ group of tulips, with elegant, elongated, pointed petals. These are deep orange, getting paler at the edges, and bear a red ‘stripe’. Its flowers are held aloft on a very tall stem and when the evening sun in the Garden lights it up, they are on fire! And if all of these qualities weren’t enough, unlike most tulips, Ballerina even has a scent. An all-round winner.  

Many thanks to gardener Dean Young and our team of volunteers who could not have worked harder last Autumn planting all of our pots of tulips and this Spring arranging them all over so many months.

We are already getting excited about our plans for next year’s display and our 'Festival of Tulips’, which we had originally planned to celebrate the Curve Garden’s 10th birthday year in 2020. We want to plant even more tulips for next Spring, in the Curve Garden and in other parts of Dalston and to present an exhibition celebrating the rich and fascinating history of the Tulip.  If you would like to ensure we can fill the Garden with tulips and colourful bulbs for the Festival, please donate to our crowdfunder, so we can start ordering the bulbs soon, before our favourites run out! https://uk.gofundme.com/f/save-dalston-curve-garden

Many thanks to Sandra Keating, Alex Bogdan and Erola Arcalis for their beautiful Tulip photos. All photos are copyright of Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.

[benlaksana]

Coming Home

If there is one constant emotional response that my mind and body has conjured since coming back to Indonesia, it is anger. The reasons are plentiful. Chronic social and economic injustice, growing government oppression, sheer incompetency of many government officials, religious conservatism, as the proverbial saying goes, the list goes on.

And now with the coronavirus devastatingly consuming Indonesia and my government’s response has not only been weak and slow, lacking in coordination, but also simply at many times blatantly incompetent, anti-science and anti-expertise, resulting in the deaths of many including doctors and nurses, and with no full lockdowns initiated, no mass testing, just some half-baked government encouragement to physical distancing and good hygiene. I’ve observed that this time not only am I consumed with fervent anger but at many times deep sadness and crippling fear. An unholy trinity. In the name of anger, sadness and lingering fear.

Here’s some trivia and personal info for you folks. Did you know that Tuberculosis (TB) usually leaves scars on lungs it once infected and even though it’s been decades since my bout with TB, my lungs today, as you might expect, are not in tip-top shape. So that’s my pre-existing condition that at times, at many times, throws me into a panic and into a sudden cleaning spree. Wipe here, wipe there, disinfect door knobs, drowning recently handled money in warm soapy water. Irrational fear? On the contrary my beautiful friends. Indonesia has one of the highest Covid death rates in the world and with Covid patients on the rise but not at its peak, our already sparse healthcare system is already showing its cracks. Again, just to remind you, Indonesia is not even near the peak and we’re not even doing massive tests but everything is already hanging on a thread. Adding to this misery, the lack of some kind of social safety net has this climate of dread creeping up on me, this I acknowledge and I am trying as much as I can in keeping this at bay. Dread induced paralysis is not something I can to endure at the moment.  

That’s some personal (slightly existential) rant right there.

But I understand that I’m lucky and painfully privileged to be able to work from home unlike so many others. So since at this moment my productivity rate is reaching zero and I’m basically pushing away work and other responsibilities as much as I can (which will probably come back and haunt me soon), let me just first reflect on life at the moment, updates on other things aside from this feeling of impending doom.

I’ve realized that I do not update this blog of mine as often as I would like to. Desires are kept as desires, and slowly wither away as desires. Yet as 2020 dawned on me and ages with uncertainty I spent my time re-reading old books that I have read many years ago and some of my old blog posts as well. Beginning with my first blog post which is now the ripe old age of 10 years old. One decade old. With the breakneck speed of change of today’s internet, 10 years is perhaps close to immortality in internet years. That being said, I still use Hotmail for my main email which I’ve had since 1998, the year I was introduced to the internet...and politics.

It was 13th of May 1998. I was at home with my dad as schools and offices were closed. The day before that soldiers opened fire at a student demonstration in front the University of Trisakti, Jakarta. Four students were killed, riots and demonstrations were happening everywhere the following day. So most people decided to stay home.

I remember my dad narrating the 1998 May protests as we attentively watched the event unravel through our old school CRT TV. My dad was thankfully percipient enough to refuse to go to his office during that week, but he did have friends in high places so it wasn’t much of a surprise if he received some kind of insiders info. I was about 12 years young at that time, on the cusp of teen hood. Puberty was on my mind, but that moment of watching a historical event unfold (which of course I did not understand it as something momentous) with my dad explaining with excitement of what was going on, even though I sure as hell did not understand the most of it, was illuminating. A father and son bonding session as result of reformasi. That sounded like a thesis topic: Family Relations and Social Change: Exploring Familial Relations through the 1998 Reformasi. (Hah!)

It did however shape my values and ideas that I still hold on to this day not only on politics per se but what I wanted or expected from this thing called the nation-state. I have to say that the May 1998 riots and demonstrations, the visualization of the riots on TV and my dad narrating in the background constantly interrupting the reporter, was the reason why I remember that day so clear. It made an indelible mark on me. I can’t even begin to imagine the impact to those who were physically effected by the riots, houses and stores burned down, people being raped and/or murdered..

About a week after the riots, on the 21st of May 1998 President Soeharto resigned after 32 years in power. I saw my dad cheering, again not fully grasping the reasons why, although he did try his best to explain. But it piqued my interest in politics, and being told that this this new thing (really new for me at that time) called the internet had much to offer about what was happening then, a few weeks after that, using my mom’s 36.6 kbps dial-up modem that I was awfully proud of, I registered for a shiny new Hotmail account. In hopes of joining mailing lists.

Wasantara-net, owned by Indonesia’s postal service, was my family’s choice for the internet service provider. I hated them as they were first-class in unreliability, but they were the only providers to be able to connect my house, on the edge of bogor, to the world wide web. My first few emails, if again I remember correctly, were chain mails about the May riots that I subscribed through questionable mIRC chats. Chats that start with A/S/L, age, sex, location, and either ends in hook ups, or being involved in something you’re too young or ignorant to fully understand.

Being young(er) and wanting to be part of something important is such a motivating factor in us actually doing and becoming something. With Carl Gustav Jung in mind, being young or old, we are but “modern man in search of meaning” and being part of something greater than ourselves does still give me meaning.

Fast forward a few decades, I’ve noticed that you get a raised eyebrow when you tell people that you’ve been using the same email for more than 20 years now, and you get double raised eyebrows and an instance of wincing, once they find out that said email is a Hotmail account. I am coming up with less and less excuses of why I haven’t migrated fully to other emails. But hey, you know what they say, habit brings comfort, repetition brings comfort, knowledge that arises from experience, from personal history, brings comfort. Although not always, the past brings comfort, while the future which is riddled with unpredictability is lamented and brings worry if not angst. Comfort though, I have come to understand, brings laziness and at many times dullness.

It is however always interesting looking at one’s own past and how it is intertwined with the past of others. I think I’ve written about this a number of times, and most of my writings are born from the act of retrospect. I often assume that I would not be able to talk about my future if I never look at my past, but what also happens is that I also end up talking more about my past or at the very most my present rather than talking/thinking about my future. Is that bad? Is that good? Am I shying away from discussions about my particular future? Maybe, I don’t have an answer to that now. But I know it’s there, tucked away in the back of my mind so I’ll probably talk more about that someday. And with Covid-19 destroying all of my plans in the near future that someday will probably come sooner.

Coming home to Indonesia, after a number of years abroad, I have also come to realize, sadly, that many of my social activities here in this space which I reluctantly call home, are more often than not, performative acts that I do not like performing for. I am basically faking it and I am doing this by fulfilling a cultural and social role that I necessarily do not have strong feelings for, or even just feelings for, but I have adapted myself into it. Somewhat. The reason why I do this is simply out of respect of others. Things that do not give meaning for me, has often been deeply meaningful for others and expressing it verbally does not bode well for maintaining relationships. I am happy to say that I have Rara to remind me when I have become too logical (I am happy to say that I have Rara to remind about many things in life) in understanding the meaning of culture for many. But it is, simply put, not without its personal struggles.

Being a son, being a son-in-law, being a younger and the youngest child in a family oriented, confuscianist-style, hierarchical, the-individual-is-constantly-attached-to-the-social kind of society. And then being a husband in a patriarchal society, where I am expected to fill a kind of leadership role that tires, bores and disinterests me.

(On a side note: for some reason, I have often come across this odd discussion of alpha/beta male/female amongst my peers here. Which I find interesting as it denotes a fixation to hierarchy and also the assumption of fixed temperaments/personalities of an individual across space and time. Are they basically saying that agency of one’s self perceived to be rarely possible? Is change and adapting to a situation impossible? )

Then without doubt as a citizen of a nation that I superficially identify with. How can I ever identify with a nation that happily and openly oppresses others for the sake of unity? And not only rarely admits it but even more rare tries to amend it. It is a simple rhetorical question.

In sum, I have to be honest with myself here, coming back home to Indonesia is not home for me and I don’t think it will ever be one. It is more of a burden than something that brings joy.

The food is great here and I have my family here which is also nice but life of course is much, much more than just culinary preferences or familial ties. I am losing my sense of self here, and it is destructive for me. I am losing myself.

Fully realizing this I was looking for a sense of direction when I reread some of my old already read books that once inspired and also my old blog posts these past few weeks. At the crux of it, this blog has always been for me. It is shared publicly in hopes of others sharing what they have learned through life and what I have done wrong in my life. And I have done many wrongs that have not been righted, some no longer even have the possibility of being righted.

Rereading my blog, I realize much like others, that our attempts in finding meaning, and our meanings when they are found are frail and delicate. It is constantly assailed and it is easily lost, and at times harder to find when lost. Life it seems always tries its best to rob you of meaning. Not because it is intent in doing so, but because the very nature of life is in its impermanence. Everything is impermanent including meaning itself.

Intellectually and experientially I understand this. But again like many, I’ve still tried to find meaning in others, and much like many I’ve lost these people in which I have found meaning in. This is the constant dillema as naturally social creatures.

It is perhaps in our nature to be contradictory, or to live in denial, to assume that meaning and the people or objects that give meaning is eternal.

Some of these people that I have acquired meaning from I have forever lost through death, much like so many people out there. I have also lost some rather unintentionally, such as due to spoken words that are not carefully thought out. Some by design, on purpose, with deep intent and thoroughly planned with precision execution, slowly letting go. At other times, a harsh break, a rude awakening on both ends, yet ending in a sigh of relief. As some relationships, although lush with wonderful memories, are never meant to last and can never be let to live in the future. Memories that remain as memories, stories of the past, that do not become worries of the present nor burdens of the future. Our understanding of meaning is often forced to change and to morph and at many times, to end. People and things that once provided meaning no longer do, as people and the things around us change. People including me.

I’ve changed, I know I’ve changed, I’m quieter yet more angry of the world, hopefully a bit more thoughtful of my words and actions. But one thing that hasn’t changed is how I am not done with grief, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be done with it. I’m not even sure if it’s actually grief. Because we all know that the tragedy of growing old, is the tragedy of unwillingly filling your life with regrets and maybe my grief is but a thin veil for my regrets.

One of my plants in my garden died today. A lush rosella bush that I was hoping to make some tea out of its beautiful red flowers. The days are drawing long, and hope is few and far in between.

Be well everyone.

[drawmealama]

Painting Tutorial

Disclaimers !!! (important)

I’m not an expert or teacher.

There is an infinite number of ways you can paint. THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO PAINT! This is how I do it / how I was taught to do it.

I’m doing this (during mars 2020) because I’m getting restless during the global quarantine. If you want to paint but you don’t have the supplies: PLEASE don’t go out to buy supplies. This is not a necessity so please stay safe. Also, if you’re considering buying art supplies on the internet ask yourself if it is necessary (like if you have an assignment/it’s part of your job/...) and try to minimize the strain on delivery services for non-essential supplies.

This post will still exist in a few months. I’ll even self-reblog it at the end of the lockdown so that, if you’re still interested, it’ll be here.

I’m going to make fan art for @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels​ (madsthenerdygirl on AO3) and her witcher fic “Even Steel Blades Need Fire” that you can find here.

I’m trying to make a non-spoiler piece, but I’ll talk about the fic (so spoilers!) during the process. If you have not read her fic and you don’t want to get spoiled, go read it before you continue.

I started painting two years ago, and I remember vividly my struggles in the beginning. Painting can be confusing, and I am going to assume that people with no experience are going to read this.

I’ll be explaining the painting process in-depth so LONG POST (I guess) and stay tuned for updates !!! (yay)

I think that’s all. 

Let’s start !!!

Here we have it all! All the supplies (and some) I use when painting with acrylic paint.

First, note that you don’t need all these supplies to paint. Most of the time I do it with less, but this is a tutorial so...

1. Paper

Good news, you don't need to have a canvas to paint !!! You can just use paper (cool right?!).

Any size is ok, but I prefer to paint big (this paper here is on the smaller side. I usually paint on “grand aigle” paper or “double grand aigle”. Which translates to “great (?) eagle”. Look it up!). 

Here I’ll be using a 65x50 cm piece (called “format raisin”/ “grapes format”...)

I advise to use 200gms (or 200g/m2) or more but 180g can work too.

225gms and 250gms are my personal favourites.

2. Something to protect the surface you are painting on. 

when I started painting I was super messy. I had no control over the paintbrush/the paint/etc..

I recommend using something (cardboard, plastic bag (not the best...), or newspaper) to cover up where you're going to paint. 

The smaller your paper, the more likely you are to spill paint next to it.

On that note, when I started painting I used to wear a chemistry lab coat to protect my clothes. 

It can save you when you least expect it (read: the whole bottle of paint falls and explodes everywhere). Now I stopped doing that (bad) but I don't really care about my clothes and also painting in your underwear when you're alone is fun.

remember to remove any jewellery (RINGS!!!) (you don't want to scrape off dried paint of off jewellery).

Don't wear gloves. (acrylic paint washes of with soap and hot water). Plus gloves are going to make your hands sweat and I don't recommend wearing them for long periods.

have a towel nearby or something at your disposal (but only use old stuff. you will probably never get all the paint stains off. I use my old lab coat.)

where you are painting is important too. When I started painting I liked using an easel. If you don't have an easel, that's ok. I don't have access to one during this quarantine business, so I'm doing sans-easel.

Also, I prefer to paint on the ground or on a table (depending on the cleanness of the ground and the paper size. if it's too big for one table, I sometimes use two side by side but it's not really practical).

Also with bigger papers, an easel can be impractical = you can't reach the top/bottom easily and you tire very easily.

Here is something my teacher used to tell us: 

“Don't sit on a chair.”

Explanation: when using a chair your paintings tend to look "tired" or "sloppy" (Idk how to describe it, but for better results try to stand up)

however if you are doing:

a big piece

painting for a long time

or you have medical issues that make standing up for a long time painful

 then I recommend either having a chair nearby to take "sitting" breaks or painting on the ground.

In all cases take breaks! 

Second advice from my teacher: 

“Don't listen to music while you paint.”

Explanation: when painting you want to avoid "coloring" with brushstrokes that go left-right and up-down all the time. when listening to your music you will unintentionally start following the rhythm of the music with your strokes and making them repetitive. Similarly, I noted that I'm slower when listening to music because I tend to focus more on the music than on what I am painting.

BUT, I know someone who makes these beautiful, giant paintings on bedsheets, which take like weeks to complete and with lots of details. And guess what? Not only does she sit down but she also listens to music while doing so.

In conclusion, it's up to you. but if you struggle painting: try sitting down/standing up/ taking more breaks/ turn on/off your music...

3. Paint pallets

Ok, so here again it's up to personal preferences.

you can use a

plastic/wood/glass pallet (that you re-use every time)

or you can use

disposable paint pallets/a piece of cardboard/paper plates (that you reuse a couple of times before throwing away).

At first, I started to use plastic pallets but I kept trying to clean them at the end of each lesson and I was losing so much time... (note: I found that bigger pallets with no little "holes" work the best).

Problems:

If the paint is dry it’s super difficult to get it off without soap or other types of cleaning products.

You use a lot of water to clean it and paint gets in the sewers.

An alternative is disposable pallets like on the picture (or cardboard/paper plates). you don't have to clean them, it's super cheap/free and a lot lighter.

Problems:

you can't use them forever and will need to throw it away (or recycle them into weird paintings).

If you use straight-up cardboard and try to mix a lot of water in your paint it will make a mess and destroy your pallet.

4. Water dish

Anything that holds water and that you don't use to drink is ok. Remember you will probably never get all the paint off.

5. Paintbrushes

Okay, this is the weird part where I tell you that "paintbrush" is "pinceau" in french and that the word comes from the Latin  "penicillum" which means "small tail" or "penis". Also, there's this text (of which I don't remember de name or the author) but it discusses the implication of artist's preferences for certain types of paintbrushes when you compare them to penises and it's silly and fun but now I need to talk about the paintbrushes I use and I don't want to make this awkward, so just forget what I just wrote there.

Let's see. I grouped and ranked each brush from A to G depending on how much I use them.

A) My personal favourites, that I use all the time: they are mostly round brushes.

There's a big one that's actually to paint walls but works well when I need to cover big surfaces

then a few tiny/flats with rounded tips for detail (called ”Filbert”)

a couple of medium/rounds 

and this flat squared tipped (called “Flat” or “Bright”) for when I need to get clean edges.

B) Medium/flat and square tipped brushes I use the same way as the big round.

C) These ones I use when the others are already in use and I need a clean brush. the problem is that some of them have these synthetic bristles that are super bendy and I don't like it.

D) Some more small brushes for detail. I sometimes use them for watercolour because they can hold a lot of water. See how they have a shorter handle? Long handle = for easel painting (because then you can get further away). The small handle = not for easel painting.

To be honest I don't really care. it's not super important (but I prefer the long handle ones).

E) These are really tiny small round brushes that can be used for even smaller detail (but I don't use them a lot).

F) I never use this paintbrush. the bristles are super soft and fur-like and see how they're pointing outward instead of inwards, and don’t make a point? yeah, I can't do anything with that.

G) Please, PLEASE, for the love of god do not use these types of brushes with acrylic paint. they're for ink painting and calligraphy and other stuff. They're super expensive and a pain to wash. I've seen people use them with paint and I don't judge but personally, it just feels wrong to use them with paint.

General tips to keep in mind when buying brushes:

Size matters.

The bigger the better.

Hog bristles = texture + (in general) better quality + stiffer

Synthetic or nylon bristles = cheaper + bendier + smoother finish.

If you are getting a pack of brushes try to look for one with more of the bigger brushes than smaller ones.

You don't need every size but you need a couple under 10, one or two around 20 and one 30 or 40.

Brushes are expensive. Like, think book price range (where I buy them they are around 15 euro or around 20 euro).

Any free brush is a good brush.

Handles don't matter.

General tips to care for brushes:

Wash your brushes.

Use soap (dish soap is fine). I've seen people use shampoo and I'm sure it works but for acrylic paint (= water-based paint), it's a bit overkill.

Let them dry laying flat.

Don't let them sit too long in the water. you don't want to weaken the wood or glue or metal that is holding everything together.

Handles don't matter (just keep a picture or a reference of your brush before it gets covered in paint and you can't tell what size/brand it is anymore).

6. Paint

The fun part!

Here are the colours I am going to use (I'm not using all the colours i have and I tried to make a varied but coherent pallet).

(from top to bottom, left to right.)

Titanium White (neo acryl, Gerstaecker, 102)

Black (neo acryl, Gerstaecker,704)

Prussian blue phthalo (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 566)

Quinacridone pink (I love art, Gerstaecker, 350)

Reflex rose (I love art acrylic, Gerstaecker, 384)

Primary yellow (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 275)

Raw sienna (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 234)

Burnt sienna (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 411)

Burnt umber (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 409)

Vandyke brown (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 403)

Carmine (acrylic standard series, Amsterdam all acrylics, 318)

General tips to keep in mind when buying paint, or how to choose colours when you don't want to spend too much on paint:

You CAN NOT paint with only primary colours !!!

NO magenta (it's like using 100% red. Also paint is pigment not light so magenta does not equal red)

Get more white and black paint (you can start with small quantities but these two getts used the most. I've also seen people buy "handyman paint" in white to get large quantities for cheaper but I never tried before.)

Pick darker colours over lighter ones

and pick lighter colours over mid-tones (I will go over this later when I start painting)

If you're like me and don't have tons of money to spend on paint, avoid paints with double colour names like "greenish-yellow", get yellow and get green and get white and then mix! (so you have green, yellow and everything in-between...)

When in doubt pick colours with:

fancy names (royal blue, ultramarine blue,...)

natural pigments names (cobalt, carmine, sienna,..)

well known names (TITANIUM white !!!)

artist’s names (Vandyke brown, Klein blue, ...)

Exciting and unusual names (what intrigues you? If you go: wtf is "Quinacridone pink?", "Phthalocyanine emerald"  "Vermillon?", then pick that.)

I know I said don't use primary colours but you NEED to mix colours. Go crazy! (note: straight from the tube colour can be used but in moderation or with good reasons..)

BUT You NEED brown, don't try to make it yourself

you DON'T need purple (I'll explain later)

(fluorescent colours can give you unexpected results when mixing. (I bought the fluorescent pink thinking I'd only use a small amount but now I'm kinda running out. And I don't even like pink that much...))

7. Something to pin down your paper

You only need this if you are going to work on something not horizontal.

Any type of pins (that can support the weight of the paper)

repositionable tape

or any kind of masking tape (that does not ruin paper when removed)

8. references

(The references on the picture are from another project.)

If you're not painting from life I recommend printing out your references over just having it on your phone or laptop or any screen, because

when you print them you are using pigment 

and then when you are painting you're looking at pigment and not pixels/light.

So it's actually easier to SEE the colors you have to use (and it can improve your results when painting with PIGMENT).

Also, try to print them as big as you can.

Right now I don't have a printer with me and I can't, like, get it printed or anything (not only because of the lockdown but because this is witcher stuff I'm going to make so I'm going to need reference photos of the actors and everything... yeah, no).

I'm just going to have my refs on a screen...

Hope some of you made it this far. If so, congratulation!

(I tried to make this as clear as possible (English is not my first language and I struggle with writing)).

[stardancerluv]

Gotham Lockdown 2020

Part 10

Summary: How better pass the time during the lockdown? Roman & Victor play some rounds of pool. While you and Victor’s girl watch your favorite movies...what are you watching?? Bridget Jones’s Dairy and Moulin Rouge. But since you are Roman’s lady...and this is Gotham...absinthe is essential.

Warning: none...drinking.. Dialogue from Bridget Jones’s Diary will be in BLUE! Dialogue from Moulin Rouge will be in RED!

“Definitely a time for genuinely tiny knickers!”

“Right...right...”

“Mark! Mark!”

“Bullocks! Oooh! Wish me luck!”

“I didn’t mean it!”

“I know that...I was buying you a new one. Time to make a new start.”

“Oh! I love that soooo much!” You cooed. “That ending!”

“I know it kills me!” Chirped, Doll-Face.

“I am not sure if I could do that!”

“What?” She asked.

“Run through the streets in panties.”

“Y/N you are dating Roman...I am surprised you haven’t already!”

“Well I did dance once on top of the tables when he grew jealous!” You tilted your head from side to side smiling.

“See that is close enough!”

The two of you erupted into laughter. “True..true. At least it wasn’t a cold wintery night!” More giggles came from the two of you.

“Ok....” Victor’s girl pressed her lips together. “It’s your turn! What should we watch next??”

You paced as you took out the dvd of Bridget Jones’s Diary.....”Oh! I know but I must go to the bar first!”

“Huh! Why!”

“You’ll see!” Off you ran to the bar that was down the hall.

You spotted, Roman and Victor playing a round of pool. You went and grabbed the bottle of the green magic. You made sure to pop the sugar cubes into the two glasses. Then you went over to where the boys were playing.

“Hi Romy,” You said happily as you went over to him, he wrapped an arm around your middle. Sometimes, you called him that. You were the only who could do it and not have their face removed at some future date.

“Hi baby.”

“Are you winning?” You beamed up at him.

He raised an eyebrow. “I am trying.” He said dryly. “How are you and Doll-face?”

“We’re having a blast!” You held up the bottle.

Roman, rolled his eyes but he smiled. “You girls are watching Moulin Rouge?”

Victor, grumbled.

“We are right about to start!” You looked over at Victor. “Victor, I am not making her soft....your kitten will always have her claws!”

“Good!” He tapped his cue stick on the floor.”

“Alright, well I better get back to it.”

Roman, gave you a kiss on the cheek. “Baby, don’t have too much of that green fairy.” He said softly.

“I won’t.” You lightly pouted.

“Alright..well either way.” He smirked. “You know where I am if you do.” He chuckled and winked at you, which made you smile more.

Victor, grumbled again.

“Alright! Alright...I’m leaving enjoy your games!” Going up on your tip toes you gave Roman another kiss on the cheek. “Good luck, daddy.” You whispered in his ear before your flittered off.

****

“Sorry about that! Had to say hi to Roman.”

You put the bottle and glasses down, going over to dvds you found the movie, and took it out. “Here it is!”

“Oh! That is alright, I popped us some fresh popcorn. Is Victor winning?”

You sighed, “He is!”

“Oh good for my Victor.” She beamed.

You smiled. “Have you seen this?” You held up your prized copy of Moulin Rouge.

She shook her head!

“Oh!” You squealed. “You are in for a treat!”

You poured some of the green liquid into the glasses. You handed her one of the glasses.

Her eyes narrowed and she sniffed it and pulled back making a face.

“It tastes like licorice. And it is crucial to have it at least once while watching this.” You told her excitedly while holding up your glass. “To properly enjoy this film.”

Her eyes still narrowed but then she smiled brightly. “Alright! I’m game.”

“Great! Cheers!” And you clinked your glasses and pushed play. “You will love this movie!”

You then downed your first glass, you made sure to fill it back up.

“Oh...that is awful!” Doll-face coughed.

You hesitated a glance at her.

“But I like it! Pour me another glass.” You happily did so.

She was shaping up to be a very fun person to pass the time with. You were glad that Victor and her had fallen for each other.

“Do you believe in beauty?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe in freedom?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Truth?”

“Yes.”

“Love?”

“Love? Love? Above all things, I believe in love. Love is like oxygen. Love is a many-splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love.”

“Oh good! We didn’t miss too much.” Roman said. You paused the movie. You smiled up at him. “Is there any room for me?”

You nod and move your legs. Roman, plopped down in the one corner of sofa. Happily you lay your legs across his lap, resting your feet on the armrest. You curl up to his side as his arm wrapped around your back.

While Victor took the over stuffed chair beside the sofa, a place he sometimes would sit in when they were all watching updates about the lock down. He beckoned to his girl into his lap and then draped both arms around her.

“Everyone comfy?” You asked with a giggle. “Ok, great!” You pressed play.

Roman, nuzzled you by your ear. “How much have you had?” You could hear the smirk on his lips.

“Only two glasses.”

“Can I have some of this one?”

“Of course.” You handed him the glass.

You knew, he didn’t care for green liquid but he’d occasionally drank it with you. Which was usually when you watched this movie. This will be an interesting, you mused as you saw him swallow the entire glass.

@darling-i-read-it @spn-obession @vintagemichelle91 @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @ewanfuckingmcgregor @zodiyack @angel98624 @starwarsprequelfangirl @nebulastarr @emyliabernstein @thepeachreads @itsknife2meetu @whyisgmora @theblackmaskclub @omghappilyuniquebouquetlove @nomnomnomnamja @poe-kadot26 @top-rumbelle-fan @primadonna-girl23 @hazel-nuss @vcat55 @feelthemadnessinside

[aaronmaurer]

Music I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

I can’t say I discovered a lot of new artists in 2020, but I did find a lot of solace in new records by familiar voices. During days of intense isolation and lonesomeness, music provided support, hope and the occasional semblance of peace. I’m especially grateful for the musicians who found new ways to perform live from their home studios, once the entire touring industry completely shut down. I’m sure we all found our own rabbit holes, but live-streamed sets from the likes of Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Atkins, Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin, Geographer’s Michael Deni and Ben Folds kept me sane during April, May and beyond. As did all of these albums, which I highly recommend.

15. Serpentine Prison – Matt Berninger

The National frontman’s first solo record is a slow-burn that may not reach the heights of his work with his main group (or sideproject El Vy), but still has signature moments of poetic beauty. The title track is a clear standout (and when it gets stuck in your head, you can have fun brainstorming your own alternate non-sequitur couplets; examples: “Tripping on Molly / Salvador Dalí”, “Praying to Jesus / Ramona and Beezus” / “Sell it on Etsy / Heavens to betsy” / “Patio tables / Anne of Green Gables” It’s fun! Try it out!)

14. Local Honey – Brian Fallon

Speaking of Matt Berninger (and solo projects from alt-rock frontmen), I hear a lot of his influence on the latest from Gasoline Anthem’s Brian Fallon. This largely stripped-down affair has quiet splendor to spare and provided a balm in the early days of the pandemic.

13. Gigaton – Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam’s latest record finds the band operating in a variety of different modes – head-on rockers, balladeers, experimentalists – yet doesn’t quite gel into a whole the way their very best work does. That said, it’s an energetic album with many songs I look forward to hearing live, someday…

12. George Clanton & Nick Hexum – George Clanton & Nick Hexum

A vaporwave collaboration between electronic artist George Clanton and 311’s Nick Hexum? Really? Somehow it works, and its chill vibes were a perfect backdrop for lonely summer malaise this year.

11. Petals For Armor – Hayley Williams

Paramore’s Williams branched out on her first solo record this year, allowing her to operate in a variety of styles without losing her powerful voice. Moments of slinkily seething electronica (“Simmer”) share space with pop smarts (“Dead Horse”), quietly pretty harmonies (“Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris”) and all points in between.

10. Mordechai and Texas Sun EP (with Leon Bridges) – Khruangbin

Houston psych-rock trio Khruangbin did double duty this year, first releasing a collaborative EP with Leon Bridges then following it up with a new full-length a couple months later. Both records hang in the air like hazy, languid summer heat, in the best possible way.

  9. RTJ4 – Run the Jewels

RTJ4 is just as rollicking and propulsive as Killer Mike and El-P’s previous collabs, but with a greater sense of socially conscious urgency and righteous anger, giving it an even rawer power. Tracks like “Walking In The Snow,” “JU$T” and “a few words for the firing squad (radiation)” are just the tip of the iceberg on this incendiary record.

8. American Head – The Flaming Lips

American Head returns the Flaming Lips to the melodic soundscapes of The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which is my preferred mode for the band, and thus is my favorite thing they’ve done in at least a decade. The record is a bit more dreamily melancholic than those earlier releases though, creating atmospheres of contemplative beauty.

7. Punisher – Phoebe Bridgers

Coming after collaborations with boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Center, it’s hard to believe this is only Bridgers’ sophomore album. Punisher takes the winning palette of Stranger In The Alps and mixes in more colors and texture. This is an album that rewards repeat listens; tunes that I had initially dismissed have ended up becoming my favorites as they get their hooks into me. The most immediate tracks like “Kyoto” and “ICU” don’t lose any impact over time, but the likes of the quietly devastating “Chinese Satellite” sneak up on you and gradually reveal their layers.

6. Imploding the Mirage – The Killers

I was done with The Killers. My interest always ran hot and cold anyway, but after 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful, no thanks. So imagine my surprise when I gave Imploding the Mirage a shot and found I LOVE it! It may be my favorite of their records yet, at least the most consistent, where they most fully realize the confluence of their Springsteen-tinged Americana fetish and electro-rock sensibilities. Bombastic 80s arena percussion and over-the-top synth flourishes combine in the best possible way. There’s not a dud on the album for me, but I’m especially fond of “My God,” “Lightning Fields” and “Dying Breed.”

5. The Ascension – Sufjan Stevens

The Ascension hits with similar energy to 2010’s polarizing Age of Adz, but with more easily accessible songs. It’s a dark and introspective record about disillusionment with America and oneself, but also highly danceable – if a bit overlong. Standout tracks like “Goodbye to All That” and “Lamentations” provide transcendent moments of soaring beauty like calm in the storm. And the brilliant title track plays like a self-interrogating rejoinder to Adz’s pep talk “Vesuvius” in which, instead of cheering himself on, Stevens probes and calls into question his motivations and beliefs.

4. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez – Gorillaz

The latest record from Damon Albarn’s ever-evolving cartoon collective is its most engaging since Plastic Beach, with a spirit of musical exploration that reminds me much of 2001’s self-titled debut as well. The project was introduced as a series of one-off singles, so what really surprises is just how well they cohere into a full record, featuring a plethora of A-List guest artists and Albarn holding down the fort with some of his best songwriting yet.

3. 10 Songs – Travis

Travis are a band that I’ve casually enjoyed (2001’s The Invisible Band is great) but never followed all that closely. I certainly wasn’t expecting much from a latter-day record from them, but 10 Songs is one of the 2020 releases I have returned to most. The songs are the audial equivalent of a warm blanket, with a lovely wistfulness permeating through. Standouts include “The Only Thing,” “A Million Hearts” and “Kissing in the Wind,” but all ten songs are great.

2. Devastator – Phantom Planet

Phantom Planet’s first record in 12 years doesn’t miss a beat, finding a sonic middle ground between their early indie-pop leanings and their later punkier direction. The hooks are plentiful and the lyrics poignant (this is basically a breakup album about the end of frontman Alex Greenwald’s relationship with Brie Larson), with highlights including the up-tempo “Only One” and the elegiac “Time Moves On.” Return of the year.

1. folklore and evermore – Taylor Swift

Top 40 Pop Music is not really my thing and while I’ve certainly appreciated some of Taylor Swift’s work before (Red has jams!), I wouldn’t have called myself a fan. 2020’s pair of surprise release records are a different mode of songwriting for her and right in my wheelhouse, with indie-leaning production courtesy of fun./Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner. While my impressions of Swift’s past work have been navel-gazy and self-mythologizing (not a problem, but not that interesting to me), folklore and evermore broaden her storytelling to paradoxically become more specific in its universality and/or more universal in its specificity. The moments that are autobiographical (“mad woman,” “invisible string”) have an authenticity and self-assuredness that make them all the more accessible. This is romantically nostalgic poetry with the power to reopen old wounds and maybe also start rehealing them at the same time. While I still give folklore the edge (I love “august,” “exile” and mirrorball,” to name just a few), evermore is steadily growing on me with each listen.

Here’s a playlist songs from each of these records for your sampling pleasure:

Bonus! 2 Unexpected Cover EPs:

Switchfoot – Covers EP and Death Cab For Cutie – Georgia EP

As society grappled with lockdowns and concerts were uniformly cancelled the world over, many artists kept occupied with livestreams from their home studios. Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman and Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard were among those who posted daily songs or shows during the early days and their bands would each end up releasing EPs of cover songs during the year. Switchfoot take on a range of songs from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Frank Ocean and The Verve and Death Cab honor Georgia artists like R.E.M. and Neutral Milk Hotel for a Bandcamp fundraiser for voting rights. Both efforts provide some unexpected reinterpretations that elevate them above the average covers album.

[creanativebeauty-blog]

There are many beauty tips out there but thanks to COVID19, several things are change. No specific criterion of beauty. Beauty is what we feel from inside. This is often why I always say we enhance our beauty rather than things that make us beautiful. There are several things that are getting to change after the lockdown. The sweetness trend is additionally changed thanks to this. For these here, I even have presented with the top 10 beauty tips in lockdown which will update your lifestyle to reinforce it consistent with the new situation that we've to measure. Beauty is some things what we all pity ourselves. You would possibly have a special definition of beauty, mine produce other and this is often the rationale we all have maintain the ideology of beauty. There’s lockdown. Salons are closed and market isn't open completely. So regardless of the situation is self-motivation gives you the facility to fight and therefore the better version folks give the simplest motivation and you all need to accept as true with me on now.

[corvixa]

Not that I am in any way happy with the Coronavirus or the subsequent lockdown.

However-

It is giving people a small peak into the life of a disabled, housebound person. Where people usually say, "Oh, you don't work and get to stay home all day? Must be nice."

And two days in, that same person is struggling to deal with not being an to go out, feeling trapped, feeling helpless and a million other things and I'm hating that people are feeling this. Especially when you are doing something that is for the good of everyone.

So, I am delighted to supply some tips and tricks on how not to lose it whilst trapped at home! I don't want people suffering needlessly when you are self-isolating. I've been practising this since like 2015 and as far as I'm concerned, if I have gone through something hard, painful or awful, it is entirely worth it if I can use these experiences, any knowledge have gained along the way, to help even a single person.

I have left the house once this year because I had to go into my GP as the online messaging system was bust and I for a change, didn't have tons of hospital appointments.

I got in a taxi, saw my GP, and came home. I think that was in January.

Being housebound sucks and let me tell you now people, if this is new to you? You need to do a few things. Because it can sneak up on you. So, I thought this could be helpful to someone!

If you are healthy, try and make a schedule. It doesn't have to be super detailed. You don't have to book every minute of the day. Just a simple "Play a game at 1 pm" "Skype Dylan at 3 pm" "Do something crafty at 5 pm". The idea being when you go to bed at night, you know you have these things to wake up to. That there is a reason to get out of bed.

If you have complex health conditions that preclude this. (This is why CBT actually made me more depressed, because it included something like this but highly detailed and all I saw was my declining health.) If you are not sure if you'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, try and find an activity for each day. Read, sew, weave, dance, game. Even if it's 10 minutes proofreading a chapter of something you've written. Just, Something. This is pretty damned integral. Also, if you are bed-bound, try and get on top of the covers during the day if you can. It can really help.

The second you let yourself slip, you can slip further into a rut and humans are not really got at doing nothing for prolonged periods of time. It can seriously fuck your brain up without you even realising it. I didn't realise how depressed I had gotten until after I started writing and felt the difference. It doesn't have to be huge, it can be "brush the dog", " bake a loaf of bread". Just something that is a set activity.

To me, an integral part of waking up, even though I am currently bed bound, is getting out of bed, making the bed, then get back on the bed with a different blanket. This may seem silly, exhausting and painful, but it clearly defines day and night as separate things. After I started doing this, my depression was easier to manage. Just that tiny thing. Don't undervalue what a small thing can do if you start. Or the trouble if you stop.

Humans tend to like making things. It gives us a sense of accomplishment. If you can do this, it will massively help you deal with the feeling trapped, lonely and such. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Actually, it's better if you suck! Because if you spend 30 minutes each day of self-isolation doing it? You'll feel and see yourself improving. Also, there is more than just the act. Because if you pick up a new hobby, you can research it. Look online for ideas. Join a Facebook group for it and start a journey with these new people who will be super excited to share their hobby with you.

After my house exploded, we had very little. No tv, no internet, no PC etc. I had my phone and kindle, and all I did was read, which is pretty unhealthy as I get a bit obsessive with reading, but all my craft supplies were trapped. So, I saw this £15 lap loom that came with wool, needles etc. I grabbed it. I was doing a bit each day, seeing myself improving. My partners then joined me, so the three of us weaved together. Having a tangible thing you can point at and say 'I made this'. I cannot stress enough how good this is. Some crafts are really cheap to access too. Some can be free or use old clothes or equipment you already own. It improved the collective house mood so much. Night and day. Do not underestimate the sheer power of crafts when you are trapped at home.

Social media and chatting online is super handy. I honestly don't know if I would still be here today without it. I love my partners, but I am a social creature. I don't always have the energy to chat, recently my body is FUBARed, and I've barely had the energy to function at a basic level. When I can, online people, meeting new people. Joining Tumblr, and chatting to people? Makes me feel less alone and abandoned by the world because I'm a burden. I am very bleh right now, but I really wanted to write this because I know people are struggling.

Set aside a specific time a day to read things like political stuff or about this virus. This is extremely important. Because it might not feel much, you're just lying down, reading? You can burn out so fast when all you have is your house. So, take time away from it.

Self-care is the goal.

I can't think of much more right now, try and eat at a set time? Being stuck at home lends itself to constant snacking and grazing, times and days can blend when Wednesday is the same as Sunday and it can be a bit daunting.

Plus, constant grazing, boredom eating- can affect your mood by not eating proper food.

Try and get a little sun every other day, even if it is by lying in front of a window!

If you found this useful, and I don't know, want more tips on how to deal with suddenly being rendered housebound? I'll be happy to help!

If you read this and take up a crafting hobby whilst self-isolating? Or you get a little lap loom? Take pictures and tag me in it! Because I love seeing what people's beautiful brains create during this hard time.

These are hard times, even if you aren't sick, and don't have to worry about work or money and your only problem is dealing with self-isolation. Being stuck at home can be harder on people than they think, it can sneak up on you. So, this is an excellent opportunity to be kind to each other. Connect with each other.

[sugarcrash]

Break The Rules // Peter Parker

 (A/N: Here we go! First Marvel fanfiction!)

Summary: You and Peter celebrate the start of summer with a party, breaking rules, and forgetting it all.

Warnings: Drinking, swearing, smoking weed, nudity, sex (so just a bunch of frat party stuff)

*********************************************************************************************

Peter came into your room with a smile. “You ready to go?”

“Hell yeah!” You yelled back.

You stole a glance at a nearby clock. It read 8:30. Time for the party to start.

It had just been the last day of school earlier that day, and really, you were so ready to let it go and party. Dressed in a mini-skirt and crop top, you were ready to dash out. 

You were currently getting ready with Peter in the Avenger’s quarters. Natasha had given you great tips for partying, including how to hide the fact you were drunk and how to sneak yourself in anywhere.

You really weren’t ready for Steve, though. Or Tony. Or any authority figure you could run into.

You grabbed your purse and nodded at your boyfriend, this was what you called “the signal.” Meaning it was the hint to run like a madman.

You and Peter dashed like crazy, zooming down the corridors. You could’ve sworn you saw Steve, and could’ve sworn that he looked right at you in that outfit. You gulped and hoped he didn’t.

The two of you were right by the front door, so, so close, when a large figure stepped in your path. “FRIDAY, commence quick lockdown.”

Steve.

The door locked shut fast as lightning. You groaned and rolled your eyes, Peter following your actions. You gave each other another look. This one meant “distract him and I’ll turn off the system and we can run.”

“Where do you think you’re going, in clothes like that? Hell, they’re not even clothes, more like rags!” The super-soldier scolded.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go change.” You hung your head in fake defeat and turned with a smile dancing on your lips.

“NOW!” you yelled at Peter. “FRIDAY, disengage quick lockdown!” the door clicked unlocked.

Steve didn’t have a chance to even think before Peter blasted him on the hands and mouth with his webs. Both of you screamed at him as you passed.

“Bye grandpa, see ya on the flip side!”

“Fuck you! We’ll do what we want!”

You caught his glance as your feet hit the concrete, the two of you dashing off. The sky was still pretty light, so you didn’t need flashlights or anything. 

MJ and Ned came out of their hiding places against the side of the building when they saw you two running like your lives depended on it. They got the hint and dashed alongside.

Your feet pounded on the pavement of the driveway, then to the side of the highway. Technically, since you just learned to drive, you weren’t really allowed to drive with others in the car yet.

But what the hell? Tonight was all about having fun and breaking the rules. It was going to one crazy night, you could already tell. Your friends piled into the car and buckled up.

Let’s do this.

You went straight to a fast pace and so close to speeding. All your friends laughed as someone plugged their phone into the aux cord and started their playlist of songs that represented high schoolers.

This list included “Break the Rules” b Charli XCX, “Young, Dumb, and Broke” by Khalid, and “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers.

There was a rush of amazing adrenaline in each of you. This adrenaline made you all want to be crazy and reckless and dance your asses off.

MJ stuck her head out of the rolled down window as Peter pulled back the cover on the sunroof.

“Woohoo!” you all yelled, pumped with crazy energy. “Last day of school!!!”

After fast driving, fun songs, and various body parts out the window, the gang had arrived at the school. The meeting place. A couple others were already there, like Betty, Liz, and all your friends and the decathalon team.

Yes! It was time to get this party started.

You all got out of the car and approached the rest of the partygoers. A table was set up with a bunch of snacks and drinks. Music, similar to the kind you were playing in the car, was blasting.

“Wow, this is great!” you smiled at your boyfriend before going to join your other friends. To be honest, the place looked kind of sad. Not too many people were there, but you did figure where they went.

Just then, you got a notification on your phone. You whipped it out to see a text from Flash to you. 

“Hey, wanna come to my party?” you read aloud. “It will be so much more fun, and of course I’ll be there.” he ended the message with a winky face. You sighed. He had always had an attraction to you. Flash was kind of your friend, but not really. 

“What’s that you said?” Peter asked. You turned to face him.

“Oh, Flash just wants me to come to his party.”

“He wants all of us to come, too.” your friends mentioned. Of course, he was always searching for girls for him and his friends. 

“I say we go. We set this up, but it’s a bit sad. We can all go!” Liza cheered. Everyone agreed, and helped pack everything into her car nice and neatly before all getting into their own.

Your friends got into your car and you turned it on. The playlist was turned back on again, and all of you celebrated and cheered once more, ready to go get wasted.

“Lets do this!” MJ shouted.

“My thoughts exactly.” you mentioned, pulling out of the parking lot of the school. The drive to Flash’s was filled with excitement and nervousness. Peter and Ned had never done anything like this, whereas you and MJ had.

“Don’t worry, Pete. I’ll show you what and what not to do.” you smiled at him and his nervous little self. “I’ll even get Flash to back off if you want.”

“It’s fine.” he spoke at last. “I just want to have fun.”

You pulled into Flash’s house and you all jumped out, eager to go in, but also scared. Then Flash himself walked out, obviously a bit tipsy already.

“Hey, ladies, gentlemen.” he regarded everyone. “Come inside, there’s drinks and weed and food.” he laughed. “But be careful of going upstairs, I’m pretty sure, like, 10 people are having sex up there.”

I laughed, too, in embarrassment for those people. Here? Now? What a bad plan, but oh, well.

Peter and Ned chuckled with me, unsure how to react to the information. You sent them a small nod.

“You don’t have to copy me, just have fun. Everyone here is drunk, high, wasted, or busy. No one’s gonna care what you do.”

They got the message and the four of you walked into the busy, crowded house. Some kids were playing beer pong, some were making out in the corner. Several people were just hanging out, eating and drinking.

MJ and Ned sort of dispersed, leaving you and Peter alone. You gave him a kiss on the cheek and the two of you headed over to the drinks.

You chose a Coke and a rum before pouring the two together into a red solo cup and downing the mix. Peter just swallowed and watched closely.

“You don’t have to drink, if you don’t want. You could just have a Coke or something. I just saw this in movies, I have never drank before.”

“Oh. I want to try it, too.”

“Well, before you make a whole cup and don’t like it, try mine first.” you handed him your drink and he gave it a sip. Then another. And another. “Hey, that’s mine! Get your own!”

He licked his lips. “It’s good!” Peter then proceeded to make his own, drinking it quickly.

Your bodies were being a bit odd in response. Both of your movements were obviously a bit jitterier and excited. It gave you a good feeling, though.

“This feels cool!” you shouted at him over the loud group of people.

“Yeah. I feel weird.”

You both made another drink and walked off, finding something else to do. A few kids were smoking weed and doing drugs.

“Let’s do that.” you pulled Pete’s sleeve. He nodded and followed you.

Flash was over there. He noticed you walk up and immediately spoke up. “You wanna try it? Is it your first time?”

“Yes to both questions!” you turned to your boyfriend “I’m nervous.” you dragged out.

“It’s okay, let’s just see what happens.”

You giggled and agreed before Flash handed you the stick. “Just breathe it in, and then move your head and breathe it out.”

You obliged and took a few hits, coughing in between each one. Slowly, your head started to spin and you felt like you were floating.

“Where’s the ground? Where’s the ground?!” you began to scream. Peter took your hand.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re on the ground, you’re just high.”

“Don’t let go of my hand, I might float away.”

He laughed and took the joint for himself, doing the same as you had. He, too, started to feel the same odd effect. You were now drunk, high, and giggling uncontrollably.

“Let’s go find MJ!”

“Okay!”

The two of you walked (well, floated) off, looking for Ned and/or MJ. You stopped many confused people, who were clearly neither Ned OR MJ, just to ask them who they were. It looked like you were either high or a crazy couple in love.

You were just gong to grab another unsuspecting person, but then Flash announced that he was going to go skinny-dipping and asked if anyone else wanted to come. You and Peter happily agreed, as well as a few of the popular kids. Ned and MJ made excuses, as did many others. Liz even agreed to come, as well as a few decathalon members.

It was a group of around 10 or so people, rushing off in their towels in the night. It was now around midnight, and even though Flash had a pool, you were going to the neighborhood one to make it exciting.

You arrived with a flushed face and and sweaty palms. All of you stripped your clothes and splashed in some way or another. You did a running dive into the deep end.

People cheered as you came up and you caught Peter’s eyes, but he quickly glanced away. Seeing as you had young, innocent minds (well, you didn’t, but everyone thought you did), you had never seen anyone naked, except maybe your mom and little brother when you were, like, 7.

Both of you blushed, yet swam towards each other.

“Hi Peter.” you gazed into his chocolate eyes.

“Hey, Y/N.” he stared into your beautiful Y/E/C ones.

His lips met yours in a quick but heated kiss,and you grew redder than ever. A few people around you “awww”ed, and you hid your face in your hands.

You expected Flash to make some snobby remark like he does when you and Peter show PDA, but he was silent. Well, no he wasn’t. He had snuck off with a girl in the bushes and was now making low moans and groans, followed by her high-pitched ones.

Everyone laughed and felt embarrassed. A few grabbed their phones and filmed the predicament, giggling. Ha, he would sure be blushing like crazy when he finds out people filmed him.

After swimming for a bit, you heard someone yelling out, and you froze. Of course, you had been caught.

“Hey! What’re you kids doing? Get out!”

A few girls shrieked and everyone jumped straight out, grabbing their towels, wrapping themselves, and rushing back to Flash’s house.

Speaking of Flash, where was he? He and that girl were...oh. They were still doing their thing behind the greenery. Just then, you heard a shout.

“Ew! What the hell? Get out of here!”

The man had obviously found the two having sex. You tried to imagine the look on his face, but reckoned that it wasn’t nearly as good as the one that had existed.

You all raced back to Flash’s, clothes in hands, and got changed as quickly as possible. Well, what an adventure.

The group dispersed, leaving you and Peter alone again that night. The two of you exchanged a glance that meant “Let’s go get drunk and high again.” It was fun to.

You blacked out for a while before waking up with a jolt, surprised to find yourself propped in a chair outside. Peter and a few others were playing beer pong. You laughed and spotted the spray paint cans lying nearby, giving you an idea.

You slowly got up and grabbed the color pink when Peter noticed you.

“What’re you-ah!”

You sprayed him in the chest with the paint, giggling wildly. He returned a smile and a couple other kids picked the paints up.

“Paint war!!!” you shouted, and the whole place went into a pandemonium. There were colors and laughter and lots of people having fun.

After a while, in the midst of the paint war, you fell asleep again. You woke up for a second time, finding yourself walking by a pool, before falling in with a splash.

How’d you get there? Ah, well, you were in, why not swim while you’re there? You begin to paddle around lazily before spotting your boyfriend, uncomfortably sitting to the side of some girl’s strip show.

You caught his eyes and he laughed at your state. You were in the pool, soaking wet, covered in colorful spray paint, high, drunk, had messy hair, were missing your top except for a bra, and had lost one of your shoes. 

To top it all off, there was writing in Sharpie all over your body. Written on your forehead was “FUCKHEAD,” your stomach adorned the words “Flash wants to fuck you”. Your arms and legs were scrawled in with useless doodles.

Pete jumped in after you, and you two swam for a while  before you began to make out at the edge of the pool.

After your little love-fest, you drank and smoked weed some more before blacking out again.

When you woke up, you were lying on the ground with Peter, all the previous accessories still littering your body. He too, was missing clothes, was covered in paint and Sharpie, and was hungover.

You gave out a laugh when you heard a voice from the video camera by the door. 

“Peter? Y/N? Is that you-holy fuck, what happened?” Tony’s voice came through.

You feel asleep just as Steve came over, looking at your ruined bodies. He wore a scowl but chuckled a bit.

Boy, were you gonna get it from “grandpa” in the morning. 

[hortascountrysidenotes]

Third week of lockdown comes to close

Well the time actually seems to have gone quite quickly!  We have been so busy in both house and garden interspersed with some dog training on our walks that the days fly by.  We have enjoyed participating in two and organising one Pub quiz with friends courtesy of Zoom which prove fun and educational!  We also of course have enjoyed the most fabulous weather peaking today with temperatures of approx 24C.  However rain or rather the lack of it, is becoming a problem and the hoses are out.  The new grass seed has been sown so that needs a good soak every day and will no doubt germinate very quickly.  This evening I am watering with my revolving sprinkler, the veg patch as the asparagus has started but needs the boost of water with the warmer nights to push it on more quickly - first pick Monday I reckon.

Rhubarb is also about ready and the veg patch is looking very smart.  Today I picked off the very last of the purple sprouting broccoli which has been terrific this year.  Managed to get four bags into the freezer and Mr Horta amazingly enough actually dug the area over for me, turning in some of our home made compost at the same time, therefore getting ready the patch for the courgettes. I have sown three types of courgette - Defender, a straight yellow called Atene and what is termed Italian striped - I think this is a year when one cannot have too many!  

Various plants are now moving out of the greenhouse into the cold frames - the vanilla scented Nemesia, the scented Pelargoniums and the bog standard geraniums which now wait for the summer bedding schemes.  I am thrilled that my little trailing lobelias have worked brilliantly and this week I have been able to prick out 24 with another batch to do next week.  All the Cosmos I had have been potted on, but I am still waiting for the batch of new seed to come from Suttons of multi coloured ones.  Today’s post brought 10 asparagus plants to fill in some gaps which I have planted - they have to go very deep which is awkward between the established plants but I think the plan will work and I have marked them with a stick so as not to pick from them for a couple of years.

The garden looks lovely with one exception which is the roses - they have had a torrid time - lovely new foliage either zapped by those last few very sharp frosts and now frazzled to a crisp, or even completely by first the muntjac and then the roe deer.  I have put up yet more deterrants and positioned two garden chairs at the top of the garden with bin liners over them and since then no more damage, but it will take a while for the roses to shoot again - they all had flower buds too which is sickening.  These quiet days however do mean that more wildlife is about and more confident - this morning Miss Horta and I left the house at 6 - the most beautiful dawn and did a 5 mile circuit through some of our most beautiful countryside.  As we left we saw the barn owl which gives special joy as we have been without one on the common for the last two years. Another one was spotted in old Beetley in its usual haunts and it flew directly up the bridal path towards us over our heads which was glorious.  3 roedeer were grazing just below the house and we saw a total of 16 on our walk plus 3 muntjac.  Heron and buzzard both busy, masses of blackcaps singing down by the Blackwater bridge and beautiful bird cherry in flower as we neared the ford.

Wildflowers are starting to increase daily - kingcups, stitchwort, two deadnettles, the first ladysmock, ground ivy, lovely cowslips, celandines and of course the first bluebells.  Great excitement too on the yellow rattle front.  Last year the 300 m long strip I had sown the previous autumn where PUSH had cleared out a ditch and conveniently left bare earth on the bank top produced a good crop of rattle much to my amazement as it is notoriously difficult to establish.  I collected a lot of seed in an envelope and in October, just before the cattle finished grazing the common I spread it surreptitiously, rather like the soil down the trousers in the The Great Escape, on a sparsely grassy area just outside out back gate covered in mole hills - also in the knowledge that the cattle would walk over it, jam it in and then we would wait and hope.  BINGO there is a really good patch!  I use the word surreptitious as with rattle being a parasite it weakens the grass which of course is not really what some of the graziers want.  However the more diverse mix of wildflowers due to lack of competition from grass, does make for a good herbage for cattle with all sorts of vitamins and properties that grass does not give.

Butterflies also on the march - Tortoiseshell, Peacocks, Brimstone, Comma and today the first Orange Tip.  Mr Horta has put the moth trap out twice and recorded the first moths of spring - apparently the Norfolk group who he communes with on moths have already seen Poplar Hawk and  Elephant Hawk. He just had some lovely little chaps - they have such wonderful names - Hebrew Character, Nut Tree Tussock to name but two!

We continue with dog training - the girls do enjoy it and little by little my neighbour is getting involved with his 10 month old golden retriever Cally.  He is finding it very useful to sit Cally up, to watch the girls, so she gets less excited seeing other dogs.  Next week we will start walking her through our dogs as in a bending race, on the lead, but with a view to then getting the heel work better so she can do it off the lead.  We can keep our social distance, and obviously make sure no one else is about!

To finish on a great note - Mrs Swallow arrived on Thursday so all is really well - swallows, barn owl, yellow rattle, its all looking pretty much ok in our quiet little world. We are very very lucky and we give thanks daily for life at Beck Farm.

HORTA

[deshonanana]

Which Hair Removal Technique Is Ideal For You And Your Own Body?

If you love it, leave it, eliminate it or despise it, the politics surrounding how girls, particularly, tend to their particular fuzz is a controversial matter. Some favor using a hair removal procedure and make it grow as nature intended (it is well worth remembering that we do develop hair for a variety of reasons: warmth, cleanliness and also to safeguard against friction) while others select a hair removal procedure to eliminate every strand growing lower compared to their lashes. It is private and completely your own choice.

With numerous choices available on the current market, how do you truly work out which system is ideal for you and the physique? Experimentation. Locating your favorite may be long and twisting road of brilliant-white creams, momentary pain and casual bloody knees, but as soon as you discover your solution or as is common - a blend of four or three for different places, it is a blissful end outcome.

However, what if you simply don't need to eliminate? You will find new brands increasing that are concentrated on allowing you to make the most of your hair and allow you to lavish in the self-care ritual which many appreciate in regards to removing hair.

Which will you pick?

Sugaring is getting a resurgence as a result of its long term results and renewable potential. Consisting of lemon juice, water and sugar extracted from the direction of the hair, this technique was used because the Egyptians and will establish a significant contender in the manner in which that you eliminate hair. Sugaring is getting a resurgence as a result of its long term results and renewable potential. Consisting of lemon juice, water and sugar extracted from the direction of the hair, this technique was used because the Egyptians and will establish a significant contender in the manner in which that you eliminate hair.

**Where does this work best? **

Similar to waxing, sugaring can go here and everywhere. Since Tanja Westendorff out of Sugaring London, the town's go-to destination, advises:"You are able to sugar from the brows to your feet and everything in between. We especially enjoy it when young men and women who have never eliminated any hair begin away with sugaring." Not only does sugaring quickly remove hair, but it could also decrease regrowth from here . Refreshingly, Tanya admits it is also"the most straightforward way to eliminate unwanted hair."

**How can you use it? In Sugaring London they just sugar, so that they actually know their stuff and have the particulars on lockdown.

**How do you prep ahead? And, like all procedures which take hair from the root, it's crucial to exfoliate skin prior to and affecting appointments. "Dead skin may snare hairand we do not need it to occur."

**Just how long will it survive? **

What is good about sugaring is not only does this eliminate hair quickly, in addition, it stunts its regrowth as time passes. "Routine sugaring does not just knock out unwanted hair, it provides you amazing positively luminous skin (without any ingrown hair) And also results in hair-reduction." Sugaring can be similar to giving your skin a facial so wait around 24 hours following therapy to perform strenuous training or stepping outside in sunlight.

If you are eager to whiten hair - first things - it can find a little cluttered. This is not a removal method created for people in a rush. To get the best results you want to place some time -- along with your precious possessions - aside.

**Where does this work best? As Danielle Hudson, a Jolen specialist explained, to people"It could be used nearly anywhere but is especially great on the facial skin, like sideburns and upper lip."

**How can you use it? **

Each kit you purchase will have a marginally diverse step but to"trigger" the formulation is usually entails mixing a lotion using a powder. With bleach, each strand of hair has to be coated entirely from root to tip to make sure that it functions and hair is eliminated of color so that it's best applied by brushing hair upward. It should not be left on skin more than 10 minutes, so in case it has not worked completely, you'll have to test 24 hours afterwards. If you would like to add color as soon as you've obtained the hair into a brilliant white, that may be accomplished instantly.

**How do you prep ahead? **

As soon as you've completed the patch test 24 hours before program, bleaching demands small pre-prep fuss. Avoid waxing shortly following a hot tub or the like pores will be open and also more vulnerable to sensitivity. Apply to clean skin that's yet to be moisturised as bleach does operate on almost any hair length there is no requirement to tame.

**Just how long will it survive? **

As specialist Danielle clarified, it is possible to anticipate effects to persist for about a fortnight however this is sometimes determined by your hair"development cycle and also just how fast your hair grows"

Much like waxing, depilatory creams make somewhat messy are best done from the restroom. It is easy, cost-effective and ideal for people just beginning to remove hair, but studying the tag is indispensable.

**Where does this work best? **

In the realm of hair removal choices, depilatory creams are hands down the very least debilitating, and, unlike most shaving, there is no probability of real bloodshed. These creams may be used to remove hair from huge regions or at trickier, hard-to-reach areas and are an excellent starting alternative for individuals wishing to remove hair for the very first time.

**How can you use it? **

Apply the formula into the area you would like to remove the hair out of making sure that each strand is coated and seem to the recommended timings on the package for how much time it needs to be left for. When time is up, only spend the plastic tool and scrape or step in the shower and just wash the undesirable hair off.

**How do you prep ahead? **

All that's required is a patch test before applying to make certain you're not allergic.

** Just how long will it survive?

Hair comes in several textures, colors and varying degrees of depth so while for a few simply leaving it dry obviously is all it requires, for the others it will require a few direction. Preference is essential and it could take quite a while experimentation to discover that which feels best for you.

**How can you keep it? **

As a growing number of people are choosing to leave hair in its natural condition, advanced brands have become aware that although individuals may not be needing to eliminate hair, they nevertheless wish to make sure that body is kept in optimal condition. FUR is among those brands also it has made a line of merchandise which works with, not contrary to it. Our favorite is the namesake FUR Oil that's very good at softening and conditioning pubic hair whatever the degree of dressing. If you would rather maintain hair , it's also worth noting that the products which sit in your attractiveness bags. Those with armpit hair may locate a spray deodorant more valuable and moisturisers will function well with longer hair when retained lightweight.

**How do you prep ahead? **

As with the majority of beauty goods, FUR Oil functions great on clean skin and hair, so use after a shower or bath. If you're eager to cut back, this also will work best if hair is wet and also much more malleable.

**Which are the Advantages of using? **

As a complete body of hair is our normal condition and every small strand is present for a reason, paying just a little attention for it also reaps rewards. As many of the ones that utilize brands such as FUR will concur, employing these products can develop into a lavish self-care ritual which could help you adopt and revel in living a fuzz-filled life.

**Where does this work best? **

Since epilation operates by plucking individual hairs in the origin by mechanically-operated tweezers, it may be a bit painful (although as re-growth occurs less and less and hair becomes thinner this does detract ), it is ideal to look to regions which aren't as sensitive. Legs will be the ideal example.

**How can you use it? **

Epilators may be used dry or moist. Since Braun advised us reached out for some top tips, it is suggested to begin with one which may be utilized from the shower as hot water helps loosen hair follicles that helps with the procedure. We advise that if you take some opportunity to epilate, begin in a region which you may find not so debilitating. The calves work nicely. You may discover the area near the ankle is somewhat more sore so best done as soon as you've become use to the feeling.

**How do you prep ahead? Since the hair gets thinner, ingrown hairs may become more regular so a gentle wash regularly will help. Hair does have to be of a specific length but it is a really tiny. Braun guides hair should be 0.5mm.

**Just how long will it survive? Outcomes will often last around four weeks. A ideal procedure for those desire a fuss-free strategy.

There is a reason methods become the hottest. Affordable, easy and fast to use, shaving is your busy-girl's fuss-free, fuzz-free alternative.

**Where does this work best? **

Shaving may be used professionally, however there are particular things to look at based on every region of the human body. Together with the thighs, long, wash strokes are powerful as skin is tight -- but can dry out fast so it is sensible to utilize follow with moisturiser or even select a razor using moisture bars; relatively, the darkened region is obviously moister that does create hair removal easier in concept but while the skin is more elastic, it requires one to move the shaver in more instructions to meet up together with the diverse directions hair develops in. If it comes to shaving intimate locations, pull skin educated for a cleaner shave that will also help the regrowth of rough pubic hair.

**How can you use it? **

There is much more to shaving than just running a wig over the skin.

** How do you prep ahead? **

Hair becomes 60 percent much easier to cut if it is softened in a hot tub for just two to three minutes. Products such as Venus's Satin Care also help the process and will make sure that your skin is well hydrated and moisturized. Differing to additional hair-removal procedures, hair length doesn't have to be a variable with shaving so that you can perform it as often or as rarely as you desire.

**Just how long will it survive? ** Shaving does not last long and will depend on skin routine. Should you wet shave, then you can expect results to continue between a few days, however dry shaving is only going to survive 24 hours.

When it's neatening that your brows or handling pesky flyaways, a tweezer ought to be a mainstay in your everyday beauty purse. There is 1 rule to proceed together: less is always have a look at the larger picture before dashing for another pluck.

**Where does this work best? **

Tweezing is the ideal means to keep brows and some other unruly undesired hairs. Since it frees one hair at one time, it is a tough method should you need to eliminate a substantial amount so that it's ideal to use different approaches in regards to legs or underarms. That having been said, if you are a perfectionist, acquiring a tweezer on hand post-wax or shave may be of assistance to eliminate the remaining stubborn strands.

**How can you use it? **

Much like in Operation. As a Tweezerman pro shared with us, there's a magical in the procedure. Use a set using a neat precision suggestion to isolatelift then catch the hair from the root". Isolate, lift, catch -- easy.

**How do you prep ahead? **

If shaving is all about maintaining pores shut, tweezing works better when they are exposed to free the hair of follicle clutches. Additionally, it is worth thinking about the kind of hair you are expecting to eliminate. "Utilize a slant idea for rough and longer duration hair," provides the specialist. "For baby-fines and stubble-like hairs, the purpose tweezer would be simpler to catch using their finer hints."

**Just how long will it survive? **

That is about you and your hair development. For many, it is a tweeze daily but others may go for more.

Steak, for example epilating, includes a severe ouch reputation but it's temporary and the long-term effects are only one reason why this method is now a firm favorite.

**Where does this work best? **

The advantages of waxing are worldwide as, besides lashes & face hair, this technique can be utilized all over. Sensitive areas are more vulnerable to harm so people with a very low pain threshold ought to be ready. If you are considering getting your very first bikini wax, then book to get your legs completed prior. You will be totally ready by the way that it functions and much more comfy when the sensitive regions are ready to be waxed.

**How can you use it? "Lots of individuals avoid waxing sensitive areas as a result of poor experiences but if performed with a reliable therapist it ought to give the finest and most lasting hair-free complete," clarifies Shimol Kanugafounder of Wewaxx.

**How do you prep ahead? **

Like hair-removal procedures which take hair from the root, exfoliation is the very best buddy. Ready the day before using gentle exfoliation to assist the hairs depart the origin. Additionally, it is very important to stay very hydrated, so your water up quota ahead. It is also possible to be informed with all the day you reserve. Be sensitive to your body and consider your cycle. Times nearer to your interval will probably be painful! With waxing, you also will need to make sure there is sufficient hair gift for this in order to grip and get rid of the whole hair. Approximately half an inch is optimal for your body.

**Just how long will it survive? **

Waxing includes a fantastic life span that typically exists between the four to five six-week mark. With eyebrows, as soon as you're attained your ideal appearance, have them waxed once per month. "The finer the epidermis that the longer the hair proceeds so when the area was shaved we would advise the consequences last a shorter interval since the hairs are at various lengths however with constant waxing that the hairs reduction and lasting effect period becomes more," clarifies Shimol. Immediately after waxing you shouldn't work out, expose skin to sunlight or employ products into skin for 24 hours afterwards.

The most recent at-home method to increase in popularity during the past couple of decades, IPL is about longevity so shouldn't function as got-to if you are after instant depilation.

**Where does this work best? **

IPL -- Intense Pulse Light -- functions everywhere on the body which develops below the eyes. A number of the at-home devices have attachments tailored to different body locations. Prior to buying, it is essential to notice your skin tone and hair color. For IPL to operate successfully, there's certain criteria that has to be fulfilled. As a result of reduced levels of saliva at light-blonde, white, gray and reddish hair, all light-based epilation treatments aren't successful. IPL therapy is also not acceptable for girls with naturally dark skin tones, since there's a threat the light can respond with the melanin in the epidermis rather than the hair. You can find products on the marketplace which claim to have the ability to take care of reddish and incredibly light blond hair, nevertheless I'd approach these goods with care and make certain you do lots of research before buying to make sure it will function for you."

**How can you use it? **

There is no need for lotions or messy gels or lotions here. Simply put the machine into the target space and allow the lights do their thing.

**How do you prep ahead? **

The region that you are targeting should be hair-free before IPL may be utilized.

**Just how long will it survive? **

IPL is about long-term baldness. Present hair afterward sheds regrowth and naturally is slowed down. Program is remarkably simple, you just take care of the desirable area of the body every 2 weeks to get the eight week period, to decrease hair growth by around 92 percent. After the first stage, you treat each six to eight months to keep the outcomes".

For more Deep Information Must Visit : https://beautyshuffle.com/

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, May 2 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles I came across since the late April report, although some may be older than that. I will do my best to keep posting these at least once every 10 days if not sooner. 

Have any topics you would like to see me cover in more detail? Drop me a line here on Tumblr, or email me through my website. I’m also on Twitter and YouTube if you prefer social.  

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

If you sell on Etsy, this is your reminder that the Offsite Ads program kicks in on May 4, and people who make under $10K a year on Etsy can opt out if they want to avoid the additional fees. I have a summary here. 

Issues with mail delivery during the pandemic continue. Canada Post has suspended on time delivery guarantees and warns of December level volume.  USPS is not shipping to 113 countries, including many APO addresses. 

I am still interested in posting articles and lists of resources for small businesses and artists during the pandemic, so please pass on any good resources you know about. HubSpot did a page for Australia, and one for the United States.  See my previous edition for a longer list. 

ETSY NEWS 

Mask sales have created a huge boom for Etsy, but also some busts. “Suddenly millions of people were logging on to Etsy, searching for masks nine times every second, the company calculated.The site was not ready for the rush….There are now 50,000 sellers on Etsy who have each sold at least one mask; 10,000 have sold at least 100. Etsy staff spent time calling the most popular sellers to weed out scams, but also to ensure well-meaning sellers were not over-promising.” There have been many threads from sellers whose shops were de-indexed due to both bots and to Etsy wanting to limit their sales until they catch up on open orders, creating a lot of complaints at a time when their customer service response is hugely delayed. 

Some sellers report receiving listing credits for masks, although several who received money did not sell masks, and many others who did sell masks got nothing. 

Another Seller Handbook post on what people are looking for while they are under lockdown (TL;DR: home decor, activities, bath & beauty) , as well as suggestions for how you can pivot your shop. They include the top search terms for each area; some examples: washable paper towel, garden, birthday gift,  printable wall art, puzzle, board game, puzzle adult. “As shoppers transform their living spaces for multifunctional uses like working, exercising, and homeschooling, they’re looking for cozy comfort as well as fresh, on-season style updates that offer mood-boosting appeal….113% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for “home office...127% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for “indoor garden...“Face mask” was the top searched term for the last five weeks (as of April 23, 2020)” Finally, “In recent Etsy buyer research, one third of shoppers who anticipated purchasing on Etsy in the next three months reported planning to buy gifts.” [Although the article doesn’t mention this, I strongly recommend emphasizing somewhere in your shop that you can send the order directly to the gift recipient, if you sell giftable items but sales are down right now. I am getting a lot more requests for gift notes than usual, and more people are paying for tracking so they know when the gift arrives.]

A study says that 30% of Etsy sellers do not save for emergencies, and 74% want Etsy to help them when emergencies arise. 

Two new features for users of Etsy’s USPS labels: free pick up requests, and easy customer return labels. 

Etsy launched an exclusive collection with Joseph Altuzarra. 

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Moz just came out with an excellent guide to keyword research that you all should at least bookmark to come back to later, even if you don’t do keyword research now. The introduction contains a good definition of long tail with a graph; “Only about 20% of the keywords people search for will be popular "head" terms. The majority of keyword phrases will be less-frequent, long-tail keywords.” There’s even a downloadable 2-page cheat sheet on the basics at the end. 

There may have been a Google search update around April 16, but I am mostly posting this article for the graphs showing search volatility in the past 1-2 months; those changes in the second half of March into early April seem to be mostly user-driven due to the pandemic, rather than algorithm changes. 

Backlinks are not all created equal, and time is sometimes one of the factors in weighting them. [text and video] 

This analysis of near 12 million Google search results turned up some interesting correlations with ranking. Not surprisingly, sites in first place have many more backlinks on average than the other sites on the same page. It was a bit surprising to learn that page loading speed didn’t correlate with ranking at all (that may change once everyone goes to mobile first indexing in the fall), nor did using the keyword in your title tag. “Pages in Google’s top 10 results contain 65% to 85% of the keywords that they’re ranking for in their title tag. However, we found very little (if any) correlation between keyword-optimized title tags and higher rankings on the first page.”

Google may delay its move to complete mobile-first indexing by September, depending on how sites are managing due to the recent disruptions.

Some businesses are moving the money they spent on advertising over to SEO, because there is a longer-term payoff vs. a short term impact from someone seeing an ad on a given day. Good SEO can get you ranking on many search engines for years, if you are lucky. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

Not surprisingly, the top times for social media traffic have changed during the pandemic; here’s an updated list. 

Thinking of starting a YouTube channel? Here’s a beginner’s manual including screenshots on how to set it up, as well as tips on YouTube SEO & other marketing tactics. 

Don’t know what to put in your email newsletters? HubSpot picked 17 examples they think are awesome. 

Facebook rapidly revamped & expanded its video chat option to compete with Zoom & Houseparty, called Messenger Rooms. Note that “Room calls are not end-to-end encrypted, but Facebook says it does not view or listen to calls.” The are also working on the ability to charge people to watch live streams. 

Twitter had a good first quarter but the stock still fell because it does not look like they are recovering from the pandemic effects very quickly. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

As mentioned in my last edition, Google Shopping is now offering free listings on its US platform, and rolled out a bit early for some even though the start date was given as April 27. Your Etsy listings will not be shown in the free ads if you opt out of Etsy’s Offsite Ads program, and you are not allowed to add marketplace listings to GS yourself, but this may be something you are interested in for your website, if you sell to the US. Some tips on setting up Merchant accounts correctly for this here and here, and optimizing your listings here. If your standalone is on Shopify, they have instructions here. 

As ad prices are dropping for some items on some platforms, it has become easier for small businesses to start campaigns, especially experienced online sellers who can now take advantage of the ecommerce boom. [I agree with this for the right types of items or service, but I don’t think it is going to work for everything.]

New to online advertising, and don’t know where to start? HubSpot has a good introductory overview here, with details on the main options available. 

Google is offering ad credits to small & medium sized businesses as pandemic relief, starting in late May. Note that you need to have been running ads last year with Google to be eligible. . 

Google Ad users will soon need to submit proof of identity & location, starting with US users. The move is to help prevent scammers and increase transparency. Early response to the announcement is mixed. 

Facebook is no longer forcing advertisers to use its Campaign Budget Optimization, meaning businesses will continue to be able to set different budgets across all of their campaigns. 

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING 

If you have an ecommerce site built with Wordpress, here’s how to track your email newsletter clicks through Google Analytics. 

And for your ecommerce site, the best alerts to set up in GA. 

Bing Webmaster Tools has a great feature that tracks traffic to connected accounts other than your website or blog - but Twitter has been removed from this list. 

There are far more Instagram analytics apps than I thought. 

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Many ecommerce platforms/website providers are being pressured to reduce the fake COVID-19 disinfectants on their sites, including eBay, Facebook, Shopify & Alibaba.

There is a new app that lets buyers shop with multiple businesses who run their sites through Shopify, called Shop. Among other things, it will feature businesses local to the user: “A recent survey of global consumers by Ernst & Young found that 34% of respondents are willing to pay more for local products amid the pandemic.”

Shopify’s stock is flying high right now, and it has become the second-most valuable company in Canada, in part due to the surge of sign ups after the start of the pandemic. 

Since page loading speed is important to buyer conversions as well as SEO, if you have a Shopify site, you will want to read about which themes are the fastest & slowest to load. A few are ridiculously slow, & you will want to consider your goals if you are thinking of using them. 

Jeff Bezos has moved back to managing Amazon operations due to the pandemic. “Bezos was also personally involved in Amazon’s decision to suspend third-party vendors from shipping non-essential items to Amazon’s warehouses, helping ease the load on workers so that they could more efficiently ship goods like baby products, groceries, pet supplies and personal care products.  He also signed off on Amazon’s move to halt tactics it normally uses “to encourage customers to put more items in their shopping carts”.

Meanwhile, Amazon VP states that Amazon has done a lot for sellers during the pandemic, including suspending “repayment of all Amazon Lending loans for sellers in the United States and the United Kingdom until April 30.” I guess that is why their profit fell to only $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2020 despite their gross sales being up 29% due to the pandemic buying. 

Amazon’s pilot program for verifying new sellers by video calls is continuing; contrary to previous reports, they say they are not using facial-recognition technology, but they are checking photo ID against the video call. 

eBay has extended its suspension of most seller performance standard rules until June 19 for sellers in the UK. They are also extending their free listing offers, and after banning mask sales are now apparently envying Etsy’s sales and are encouraging sellers to make fabric masks.They are also planning a way to confirm sales that involve local pickups [podcast & transcript]. 

eBay had lower 1st quarter results than they & others had predicted, so the stock went down. Here is the call transcript for those interested. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

The pandemic sales trends have switched from hoarding essentials to food & home comfort items. “As spring eased toward summer, cooking at home also began to include gardening. "We see continued growth in gardening," said Ventry. ... Growing herbs, he said, played well with the home cooking trend, too. "We saw similar trends from 2008 to 2010, during the recession."

Ecommerce sales are way up, perhaps 50% up in the US right now, and some of these people will continue their increased online shopping, so it is a good time to launch many types of new campaigns. (warnings - some “not safe for work” language) 

HubSpot has been producing a weekly pandemic report on its customers core business stats, such as website traffic & sales rates. They speculate that we might be seeing a bit of an overall recovery as of last week. 

MISCELLANEOUS

There are still more good work-from-home articles coming out that can also be relevant for those of us who have been doing this for a while now. Using a schedule to be more productive is a common topic. As is managing to be productive with kids around. 

[dazeyrains-blog]

Keep me warm. Cliche trope. Hayffie summer week Day 4!!

"Haymitch, if you want to argue with me, fine, carry on, but I will not relent! I know that girl better than anyone of you and why? Because I'm a woman too"

He looked at her questioningly just to push her buttons.

"Just leave, please!" She ordered, dismissing him towards her door with a wave of her hand "I'm bored of your face and I want to go to sleep"

'THIS IS AN EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT ANNOUNCEMENT!'

Coins pre recorded voice suddenly bellowed over the compartment speakers...

'PLEASE CLEAR ALL DOORS FOR THE EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURE'

"Oh hell no!" Haymitch cursed, running towards the door to find it already electronically sealed shut.

'ALL THOSE OUTSIDE OF THEIR LIVING COMPARTMENTS, MUST IMMEDIATELY HEAD TO THE NEAREST SECURITY POD LOCATION, ONE MINUTE COUNT DOWN TO FULL EMERGENCY LOCK DOWN, COMMENCING NOW. 60, 59, 58, 57...

"What's happening?"

Haymitch was still trying at her door

"Haymitch!?"

"We're on lock down sweetheart! Must have the cavalry on its way towards us"

52, 51, 50...

"Oh, an air raid?"

"Must have come in fast if we didn't get time to all get to the base level pod"

He was pulling and pushing but nothing would give.

"Question, Haymitch! If we are on emergency lockdown, why on earth are you trying to unlock my door!?"

47, 46, 45, 44...

Haymitch paused his efforts for a second to explain...

"Because, sweetheart, last time we had a lock down, how long were we confined to our quarters for?"

39, 38, 37, 36....

"Two days"

"Two days, exactly! And Unless I can get this damn door open before the full lock down kicks in, guess who's got me as a roomie for the next-"

"Two days!? With you?! In here!?"

28, 27, 26, 25, 24....

"Well done, sweetheart!"

Effie ran towards her door and the two of them pulled together

"There's simply no way I'm spending the next 24 hours in here with you! Let alone two days!"

Ego slightly bruised, Haymitch nodded towards her "Likewise!"

10, 9, 8, 7...

"No, no, no, no! Open you damn door!"

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1...FULL EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURE COMPLETE"

"Fuck!" Haymitch cursed, massaging his hands. Effie tutted at his language but realised it was fitting.

They heard the steel clangs echoing around the facility, the sound of lockdown. The lights went out and the heaters went off. For the next day/ night or two days/ nights, they were stuck, in a one bed compartment, together.

As the emergency strip lighting kicked in dimly, Effie and Haymitch faced each other awkwardly.

"Well..." she pouted "Not such a comfortable night ahead for you" She said, throwing him one of her pillows and the extra woolen blanket at the bottom of her bed.

"Don't worry, I've slept in worse"

He lay the blanket and pillow down on the concrete floor, kicked off his shoes and lay down on top of them with a heavy sigh. "Ah, yeah, this is just heaven"

Effie stifled a laugh. The temperature was dropping fast already, she could already see her own clouds of breath.

"Will you be warm enough?" She asked, rubbing at her arms

"Human radiator me, princess" then he looked her way "Will you? Or you ah, need a spoon tonight?"

"Ugh" she rolled her eyes as he giggled at his own joke "I wouldn't spoon with you if you were the last man in hell and hell froze over!"

He laughed again, she was witty when she wanted to be. He closed his eyes and wriggled his butt a bit, but he was as comfortable as he was going to get tonight.

"Night sweetheart"

"Stop calling me that! And don't you dare snore, or I'll smother you where you sleep!"

Effie went to her wardrobe and fished out the ugly grey sweater that she had been given as part of her uniform. Well, at least it came in handy for something. Looking over her shoulder to make sure his eyes were closed, she unravelled the headscarf from her head, pulled out her hair pins and ran her fingers through her blonde curls before slipping the sweater over her head and crawling into her bed.

The emergency lights were giving off a small humming sound which was slightly frustrating, but they were dim enough to sleep under. She looked towards the door and saw that the emergency food supply box had unlocked itself, which meant it was cold oats and water for the foreseeable.

Haymtich looked already asleep she noticed, as the hand that rested over his abdomen rose and fell steadily with his deep breaths.

It. Was. Freezing.

She pulled the covers up to her chin and made her best effort to fall asleep.

.....

"Haymitch...? H- Haymitch...?"

He heard her voice, tired and whiney from across the room

"Haymitch is sleeping..."

"Please?"

He groaned loudly on purpose, sitting up and squinting his eyes to look over

"WHAT WOMAN!"

"You're...You're..."

"What? Snoring too loud? Sleeping to quiet? What!?"

"You're g-g- going to have t-t-to get in this bed with me"

Had he heard right?

"Excuse me? Come again?"

"I c-c-can't feel my body, I'm s-s-so cold. I n-need you to come over here a-a-and keep m-m-me warm"

Although her teeth were chattering, she still spoke with all the grace of a well to do lady.

Haymitch rubbed his eyes again, unsure if he was still dreaming or not.

"So, what you're saying is, you want me...to get into bed with...you?"

She heard the smirk in his tone

"For crying out loud H-haymitch, w-w-would you rather I die of pneumonia!"

He didn't ponder over that one for too long.

"So you're saying...you...miss Effie Trinket, want me, Mr last man in hell, to come over there and...spoon you?"

She wanted to scream at him and tell him to go fuck himself, but then she would still have to freeze to death in her own bed before she could get any sleep so she swallowed her pride...

"It ap-p-pears that hell has frozen over. And I t-t-take it b-back, I do n-n-need you?"

"Say that again?"

"I need you?"

"One more time, its hard to hear all the way over here in hell"

"God damnit Haymitch!! G-g-get over here!"

He laughed out loud, springing to his feet and bringing the extra blanket and pillow with him. He placed it next to hers and draped the blanket over her as she faced away from him, scooting as far over to the wall as she possibly could.

He pulled her blanket back and she tensed.

"Oh, sorry...want me to sleep on top-"

"Just. Get. In!" She ordered to which he shrugged and obliged, but not before slipping his t-shirt off...

Effie caught sight of him over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked bluntly

"You need my body heat Effie, do you want to be warm?"

If she had heard any sort of sarcasm in his tone she would have changed her mind about the whole thing, but he sounded serious and just as tired as she was...

"Ok" she answered, pulling her side of the covers higher over her chin.

Haymitch slipped in beside her and got himself comfortable first but quickly noted her tense body edging as far away from his as she possibly could.

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Get over it Effie, it's not like I'm going to brag about this" he stated, wrapping his arm around her waist and dragging towards him strongly, making her gasp as her back hit his chest.

She was stunned to silence as she watched how he professionally worked the blankets around them, tucking them both into a little cocoon. He didn't say a word as he slid his right arm under her neck, giving her an extra pillow and wrapped the other over her crossed arms, pulling her in tighter.

He let out a small sigh, signalling he was done faffing around and ready to sleep.

Effie felt his warmth melting through her sweater already and with her head resting in the crook between his collar and jaw, she slowly felt the lul of sleep washing over her. She was comfortable...too comfortable. For a moment she felt the ache of her loneliness poke her in the gut, but she squeezed her eyes shut to block it out and allowed herself to settle in beside him.

.......

Haymitch yawned himself awake. The emergency lights had lowered still, allowing it to be dark enough to sleep but still light enough to see your way around the room if need be.

He was thirsty, but the supply box was over by the door and his arm was stuck under Effies neck. He lifted himself up best he could to try and slip his arm away but she was pretty much wedged into his side, snoring gently, he was amused to discover.

He sighed and remained where he was for a second, stretching out his back. He wriggled his fingers but dead arm was well and truly set in which was frustrating.

Move her and wake her or just let it be, he thought. His head was saying 'Just move the damn woman, she's getting a good sleep, you are not!' But looking down at her, sleeping peacefully in his arms, he couldn't do it.

He pushed the hair out of her eyes and let one of her soft curls linger between his fingers. She was actually quite beautiful when he thought about it, but as soon as he thought about it, his head took over and he decided to move his arm.

Tugging beneath her gently, he felt her stir and in her sleep she began to slowly shift position, rolling to face him with a heavy yawn.

He got his chance and pulled his arm free, but just as he did, Effie rolled in closer, burying her face into the crook of his neck and pressing her chest into his as her arm slid around his waist.

He froze. Languishing in the moment.

Her soft fingers gently carving circles along his side as her lips grazed at his throat. He swallowed hard, more thirsty than ever, but he couldn't wake her. Or should he?

The feeling was slowly returning to his arm which now hovered above her head, unsure of where to settle. He rolled onto his back slowly, hooking his arm around her to move her with him so she wouldn't wake.

Now, although he was in a much more comfier position, Effie was now sprawled over his chest, so he wasn't overly sure that move had been the best idea.

He was stuck again, this time between what was the right thing to do or what was the most sensible...

Her head was still nestled in his crook and he could still feel the tip of her nose and lips at his skin. It was everything not to caress her gently, at one point he absently mindedly stole another curl between his fingers and started to twirl it around before realising what he was doing and let go, clenching his fist together to stop him from doing that again.

Sleep was evading him. Either because he just wasn't tired any more or that he was too distracted.

An hour turned into two, and around 5am the next morning, as Haymitch was finally starting to doze off, Effie stirred on top of him and roused herself awake.

"Morning, sweetheart" he mused as she yawned and stretched her limbs for a second before smiling sleepily and falling back over his chest like it was the most usual morning thing...

"Hmmmm good morning" she sighed, but less than a second later Haymitch felt her tense before she woke fully with a start, screaming and then accidently kicking him out onto the floor

"Haymitch! Oh god! I'm sorry! I thought I was...I thought I was dreaming! Then you were...close!"

Haymitch rolled onto his back rubbing his head. "Damnit Effie, had you forgotten that it was you who invited me in last night"

Effie bit her lip when she saw him hurt, he must have whacked his head on the bedside drawers on the way down. She threw her covers back and hopped onto the floor, kneeling infront of him.

"I must have...I'm sorry, are you ok?"

She tilted his face up to see his bump better, he stopped squinting as soon as her eyes met his, as soon as he saw those messy bed curls tumbling over her face again as she looked at him worrisomely.

They were having a moment.

Already missing the protective warmth that had surrounded her in her dreams, Effie realised he was still shirtless. Now, kneeling between his open legs as they sat upon the cold floor, she started to feel something else, stirring inside.

With Haymtichs face still resting in her hands, she smoothed her thumb over the thump on his head before replacing it with a gentle kiss.

His hands shot to her arms but they didn't push her away, they held her in place as her lips trailed from his brow to the corner of his mouth, her nose slowly caressing the side of his hesitantly.

"If you wanted me out, just just had to ask" he joked, trying to stay in control although he was losing it very quickly.

Effies thumb grazed over his lips before she swooped her mouth around to his ear and whispered "Come back to bed"

She stood and pulled him up with her and as they stood face to face in the dim light. She slowly removed her sweater and threw it to the ground

"You warm enough now, sweetheart"

"Warm? Yes..." she almost purred, licking her bottom lip.

She pushed him back until the back of his knees felt the bed, then the two of them tumbled back down together

"But no where near warm enough"