My Drawings.

November 26, 2018Leave a comment

Lately I’ve been drawing a lot. I’ve been trying to hone a skill that I have neglected for the past few years and I would like to share some of my artwork with you.

I’ve always wanted to be able to draw hands as they contain so much emotion and so as my first attempt, I tried to depict that in the image below.

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I’ve never been able to draw an eye realistically yet somehow this time, I was luckily able to do so. It was the first time I didn’t doubt my abilities and just let the pen guide me on the paper.

I just felt like depicting emotion in the sketches below. I’m so mesmerised by the human face and our features that I wanted to practice and advance on from the drawings I had done previously.

Here I was sitting on a train to go and visit my parents for the weekend and decided to sketch. I drew this as a form of escape when I felt trapped.

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I went out for a walk to clear my head when all of a sudden a ginger tabby cat decided to come up to me and proceed to follow me for 30 mins. It trotted along by the side of me and I feel as though it could sense my feelings of loneliness. He really helped me that day and therefore provided me with my inspiration for the night.

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I wanted to draw movement and even though I’m not a ballet dancer, I wanted to draw one.

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Bodies are fascinating to me as sometimes all we need is to be held.

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A familiar face that I see everyday that I wanted to etch into my sketchbook. I decided to use colours a change as I felt like it required another dimension.

I wanted to strip everything back and sketch something simple. A clean face with a blank expression.

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Thanks for looking at my sketches.

Love,

N xx

Books: Sapiens.

November 11, 2018November 11, 2018Leave a comment

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I won’t lie. Reading isn’t something that I have always enjoyed. During the quiet times in literacy lessons designated to read and review books, I would often find myself daydreaming, pretending that I was the Queen of a foreign land who rode dinosaurs as a means to get around. It wasn’t until a lot later in life that I took a fondness to books and started catapulting myself into the worlds that others created.

I read books to learn, to escape, to nourish and to educate and soon enough, there were times when I preferred the company of my favourite author as opposed to my favourite friend (even though at the time I thought that the two were the same thing).

During these present times however, I have much more of a balance with regards to my social life, but there are still times when I obsess over books and find myself unwilling and unable to detach myself from them even when they are over.

My current obsession lies within the book “Sapiens. A brief History of Humankind” which had caught my attention on my Dad’s bookshelf. I was initially drawn to it as a few days prior I had seen someone else reading it on my plane journey back from Italy and their engrossment in it sparked my intrigue.

After numerous days spent devouring and hanging onto the words of Yuval Noah Harari – I have finally finished Sapiens and I can say, with the upmost honesty that it is one of the best books that I have ever read.

The author details the theory of human evolution through the survival and extinction of other species, where the Homo Sapien (wise man) has risen to be the victor. He portrays the idea of imagined realities, a mental construct that we have created in order to make the surrounding world work for us in order to help solidify and validate our dominance within the animal kingdom.

His description and portrayal of our species was enlightening and all encompassing ranging from our birth, to our evolutionary tales across the planet and finally to our future, where death, it seems, could be perceived as a thing of the past.

He outlines our revolutionary periods of existence starting from our industrial revolution to our cognitive revolution which has ultimately enabled us to distinguish ourselves from other beings cohabiting this planet.

We construct our environment around us to fulfil our needs and desires, enabling us to flourish. We have engineered farming so that hunger will no longer be a problem of the future. We encounter scientific breakthroughs so that the human mind can live out its imaginations.

The abilities of the human mind to envisage and construct a reality that is in agreement with the population on the planet is something that could never have been achieved without our curiosity and spread of knowledge as we seek to push boundaries and challenge belief systems.

Sapiens has truly been an eye opening book that has enlightened me about specific paths in history that I knew not and would rate it a 5/5 because of the breadth of knowledge that it has provided me with.

I would thoroughly recommend it to any of you who would like to educate yourself on our past in order to recognise just how powerful we are.

We are inherently flawed, which some might view as a detriment, but it is through these flaws that we have been able to survive.

Love,

N xxx

Our Planet.

November 7, 2018Leave a comment

Recently I’ve been submersing myself in documentaries and news about climate change and the health of our planet and undoubtedly the more I learn, the more upset I become.

We are destroying all that exists around us; from the rising ocean levels that absorb obscene amounts of co2 to the changing ecosystems of our environment and the more we persist in doing so, the harder it becomes to mitigate the effects.

We are at the top of the food chain and are killing things both purposefully and inadvertently around us as you only have to look at the animals that now only exist in history or the forests that are no longer there to understand this. Where is our moral compass? We support an agricultural industry that isn’t sustainable. We don’t implement change fast enough to reduce global carbon emissions and we allow industries to thrive at the cost of our planet.

We have the innovation and the technology to really make a difference and this is why I, the same as Bill Gates, consider myself to be an ‘impatient optimist’ as the implementation is slow yet the progress is vast. Education and innovation are the key to confronting climate change. The more that it is talked about and brought into daily conversation, the greater its presence and impact on everyday life.

Innovation will help us to drive the adoption of new technologies. It will enable us to generate electricity only through renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydro for example to deliver efficient, clean energy where it is needed. Innovation will help us to grapple with unsustainable farming and agriculture by creating new techniques that allow farmers to harvest more whilst limiting their land use. Innovation will help the manufacturing industry create more efficient materials and reduce their reliance on carbon energy to produce products and it will allow us to shrink emissions from aeroplanes, cargo ships, trucks and cars by having practical zero carbon options.

Breakthroughs in the way that we approach life are only growing more urgent as each day passes. The world’s middle class is growing at an alarming and unsustainable rate as increasing disposable incomes generate a larger carbon footprint as the zone of what they can afford expands.

Agriculture, Electricity, Transport and Industry sectors generate almost all of global greenhouse gas emissions and more has to be done on an Industry and Governmental level in order to implement change fast enough to mitigate their effects.

We are a smart race, that is apparent from everything that we have achieved thus far and the capacity of the human mind only ever seems to be increasing, yet our greed often mars us from seeing the true picture. I believe that we have the capacity to really make a difference and create a future worth living for, we just need to act faster.

Love,

N xxx

Happy World Vegan Day!

November 1, 2018November 1, 2018Leave a comment

Recently I’ve been engrossed in watching numerous documentaries and films about climate change and sustainability. I have been wanting to educate myself for the better in order to realise what I can do in order to make a difference and I have come to understand that the form of change that can generate the greatest impact is the change that we make to our diets.

Land degradation, deforestation and over farming are just some of the issues and problems that can all be solved if we simply adapt and change our lifestyles and so today marks a pinnacle point in my life; providing me with the best excuse to take a stand and shift over to towards plant based alternatives for not only my sake, but for the planet’s.

I hope that today also inspires you too.

I wanted to keep this post short and sweet but if you want me to share more of my thoughts towards sustainability and the climate (of which I have many) please let me know!

Love,

N xx

Bye Bye Body Fat! – HIIT with Linn 👊

October 28, 2018Leave a comment

For the longest time I have been struggling to lose that stubborn fat and today, I am still struggling to lose that last bit of fat that lingers on my stomach. I’ve tried counting macros, calories, running for hours and sure, it did work but that “lifestyle” didn’t last for long. I would lose it and then gain it back even faster than it took to lose it in the first place… I wish I could love running and cardio like Nikki but no, my body just refuses to do cardio in that way 😒

But I think I’ve finally managed to find something that works and it has changed my life. HIIT workouts! High Intensity Interval Training, which means doing highly intense exercises at intervals e.g. 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, has transformed my body. I usually only do 7-15 minutes for each session which is definitely enough and perfect for a person like me who prefers doing more weight training anyway – it’s not possible for me to do 1 hour of cardio after a heavy weights session, nono!

HIIT can be used to lose as much fat as possible as cutting helps you to stay lean and conditioning helps you to add muscle and in general it can improve aerobic and anaerobic endurance.

Here are 2 different ways I use HIIT in my workout! 💪

On The Treadmill:

Sprint for 30 seconds on, jump off and rest for 30 seconds. I usually do this for 10 minutes and it’s an easy way to either start or end your workout. (I often do it as a warm up to “get it over with” before weight lifting).

Circuit With 5 Exercises

I’ve put together this mini circuit with some of my favourite exercises. I do 2-3 repetitions of each exercise for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.

Jumping squats on a platform.
Burpees with a pushup (actually not a favourite at all but I get a great burnout from this one!) 🍑
Mountain climbers
Up and down planking with a push up
Jumping lunges on a platform

If you ever try my circuit out please let me know in the comments what you think of it as I’d love to hear your reactions and see your results! Also, if you would like more tips for a well rounded HIIT circuit then just let me know and I will put together a few more exercises for you guys!

Love,

Linn xx

DIY: Avocado and Lemon Face Mask 🥑🍋

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018Leave a comment

I’m such an advocate for doing things yourself. I love making my own food, I love painting my own art but most of all I love making my own face masks!

I know that this may sound strange at first but you know that deliciously green fruit that goes amazingly well on toast? Well it turns out it goes even better on your face! That’s right, I’m talking about one of the best foods ever…Avocado.

I know that slathering your face with a thick green goop may not sound like the most obviously wonderful beauty treatment (especially when Linn literally just discussed putting gold on her face 😱) but avocado facial masks are renowned for their nourishing and revitalising skin properties. They are all natural, have no synthetic nasties and are a perfect, affordable in home beauty treatment.

I tried this out a few weeks ago after researching the best DIY facial masks and now I apply it religiously every morning before starting my day as not only does it leave your face all glowy and dewy but it also cleans and reduces your pores.

Why is it so good? Because avocados are filled with Vitamin E, healthy fats and anti-oxidents to help keep your skin silky smooth whilst lemon is a natural astringent that contains citric acid which helps to brighten the skin.

So without further adeiu, here is my recipe facial recipe.

🍋🥑Avocado & Lemon mask 🥑🍋

(takes 1 min to make and makes several masks so please store it in the fridge – but throw away when the avocado starts to turn grey…)

What do I need?

1/2 ripe Avocado
1/2 teaspoon Lemon juice

Instructions

Start off by washing your face to remove any excess oils and makeup.
Mash your avocado in a bowl with an implement of your choice (my preference is a spoon) and mix in the lemon juice.
Then for the fun (if not a little messy) part! Apply the mixture to your clean face sparingly with your fingers. I let it sit for about 30 mins but feel free to leave it on for as long or as little as you like!
Rinse thoroughly.
Admire your glow — (most necessary step)

It is so simple yet so effective and I couldn’t recommend it enough to anyone to just try it out. I have combination to oily skin and it really helps to control my excess sebum. I also have a few dark marks left over from the acne that I had in my teens and this really helps to even out my skin tone, reduce the colour of the marks and helps to stop new breakouts from forming as since using this, I haven’t had a single one erupt!

Concluding thoughts:

PROS

Glowing skin
No new breakouts
Smooths leftover marks from acne
100% natural

CONS

Messy and gets everywhere
You look like the hulk for 30 mins
Almost too delicious that you start licking it off your face

Even though I adore the effects of this mask I’m also a massive advocate for trying out new things so please leave me a comment on your favourite mask as I’d love to give it a go!

Love,

N xx

Please Note: Do not apply the avocado mask to your face if you’re allergic.

On The Road to Losing My “Love Chub” 💪

October 24, 2018October 25, 2018Leave a comment

Ever since my boyfriend left me to study for his master’s at Cambridge I have been trying so ridiculously hard to get fit, reason being that I was suffering horrifically from “love chub” (which is the fat that you put on because you are just so comfortable with being together) and I had collected a year’s worth of it.

So after bidding our tearful goodbyes around mid September I decided to make a drastic change. Firstly I cleaned up my diet. I did this by saying an unfortunate, but well timed goodbye to crisps. Previously I had been known to eat up to 5 bags of crisps a day, a habit that I’m not proud of but one that I have to confess to and so I shunned them from my life, extinguishing them from my cupboards in order to eradicate their tempting ways. I also restricted my bread intake as I had turned into a bread fiend, devouring copious amounts of toast daily which in turn never filled me up, but instead filled me out. With regards to the rest of my diet, I just started to eat more healthily whilst reducing my portion sizes so instead of eating until I felt sick (as unfortunately I suffer from a gluttonous sin), I would eat until I felt full. By making these changes to my diet and ultimately controlling it, I have been dazzled by the results.

But it’s not just about managing my diet correctly that has helped to shift my “love” weight, it’s been a combination of the age old and annoying saying – diet and exercise.

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.”

I have literally been a woman on a mission with my exercise routine, making sure that I work out everyday and that I switch up my exercises in order to try and use all of the muscles in my body. So for example on a Monday I might do boxing, Tuesday I could do a barre workout, Wednesday could be pilates, Thursday boxing again, Friday yoga and so on. For these workouts my faaaaaavourite place to find exercises which have literally scuplted my body is the POPSUGAR Fitness channel on YouTube.

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It’s amazing because not only are there so many different workouts to choose from, but they also all vary in length which I am a massive fan off as sometimes I’m lazy af and I only want to work out for 15 mins…

In combination with these workouts I have also been incorporating a lot of cardio into my routine by cycling everywhere – and when I say everywhere, I’m not exaggerating. I live in London and despise taking the tube – it’s hot, it’s sweaty and it’s expensive so instead I cycle. As everything is quite spread out here it means that I’m often cycling for up to 2 hours at a time but the thing is it doesn’t feel like it as you get distracted by the scenery and the views instead of counting down the time on the underground. So almost without intent the weight has just fallen off.

In just over a month from introducing these changes and creating a new lifestyle for myself, I have definitely noticed a difference. I’ve toned up and can now see little glimpses of my abs and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m not where I want to be obviously, as you can’t lose a year’s worth of “love chub” in 1 month (no matter how hard I try and tell myself), but I am on the right path to doing so.

The beginning was difficult as changing habits are hard as if you take something away that you’re used to having everyday a void forms, which in my case was a crisp size hole. Yet if you’re able to overcome that hurdle then you can overcome anything as the results start to appear quite quickly which only propels and drives you further in the pursuit of your ideal body goals.

#goals

I can honestly say that I’m feeling so much happier with my appearance and even though I’ve gone through those struggles of craving pizza and having a cheat day where I consumed 5 white chocolate cookies in one sitting, I have persevered and will continue to put in the hard work in order to banish my “love chub”.

Wish me luck!

Love,

N xxx

Peter Thomas Roth Meet Your Mask Kit: My Verdict.

October 23, 2018October 24, 20182 Comments

Am I the only one dreaming of perfect, smooth and glowing skin? I may just have a little obsession (okay maybe a big one) for buying beauty products to assist me in my quest for the perfect complexion lol.

So this time round I tried out the Peter Thomas Roth Meet your mask kit which is wonderful for those who can’t afford to buy all of the masks in the full package (UHM me..).

This kit is a amazing lux collection of 6 sample sized bottles of the popular Peter Thomas Roths facial masks that cost $52-80 for one jar of 5.0 FL (or 500+kr if you buy it in Sweden) which I think is a bit much (or actually a lot…)

For this kit you’ll get:

24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask
Irish Moor Mud Purifying Black Mask
Pumkin Enzyme Mask
Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Gel Mask
Cucumber Gel Mask
Blue Marine Algae Intense Hydrating Mask

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I was most excited for this one – the 24K gold mask in hope of it making me fabulous in a dash. Obviously that didn’t happen, but it did make my skin brighter and firmer which I liked!

I applied it for 30 minutes and then rinsed it off, which was a bit hard as the mask is very thick and slimy. Even though I looked like a million dollars with gold on my face, I have to say I had higher expectations for this mask because of the price and because of the gold. Even though it was hydrating, I didn’t expect it to be so thick! I kind of have oily to combination skin so someone with a drier skin type might appreciate this mask more than me!

I also loved the pumpkin mask because is smelled so delicious like cinnamon and it had small grains in if for a soft scrub which I really like.

Processed with VSCO with hb2 preset I haven’t managed to try out the whole set yet but so far so good! And I”ll keep you posted when I’ve tried them all and update my review.

To sum-up this little beauty post here is a list of pros and cons for this kit ❤️

PROS

Affordable, you get 6 samples sized for 299 swedish krons (not sure how much in $)
Perfect if you’d like to try out all of the masks before committing and buying the big size jar

CONS

The samples don’t last for long
You might not have use for all of the 6 samples

Please let us know if you’ve tried out any of these masks and which one you like!

Love,

L xx

The Quintessential (yet daring) Black Boot.

October 23, 2018October 24, 2018Leave a comment

Is it just me or is it really difficult to find that perfect pair of black boots? I mean it doesn’t sound like a difficult task, but trust me it’s hard. I spent tireless and what felt like endless months searching for the perfect pair and now, the wait is over!

It happened all of a sudden and before I knew it I had taken them to the cashier and unboxed them in the street. These military platform boots from the brand the Kooples are definitely better than dreams (well, any of the ones that I’ve ever had).

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The quality is amazing! They are 100% leather and feel soft yet durable to wear. The cost was incredible! I basically got them for free as they were £50 down from £250 from a shop in the UK called TK Maxx and I love how they look, mixing a dash of sport with a pinch of edge.

I feel as though they are perfect for every occasion whether that be dinners & drinks where you can pair them with that cute dress or for catching up with friends pairing it instead with a nice jumper and jeans. Either way, you’re going to look and feel amazing as they are the kind of shoes that make you feel powerful when you put them on, encouraging a persona that is strong, confident and in control and I’m definitely all about that.

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Even though they may look tooo high, do not let that put you off. The platform makes them super comfortable and wearable but I definitely wouldn’t advise walking long distances as after a while my feet did begin to ache.

Although I waited for what felt like an eternity, I finally found a pair of black boots that I am utterly in love with, so much so that I never and will never take them off!

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Unfortunately these exact ones don’t seem to be available online (cry!) but here are some amazing boot dupes that I found that you may like! (click the pictures for the links)❤️

Audrey Hiker Boots – £36, Miss Selfridge

Boa Hiking Boots – £40, Koi FootwearPatent Chunky Sole Biker Heeled Boots – £35, Missguided

We’d love to hear from you so please let us know what your favourite black boot is!

Love,

N xx

We’re Here ❤️

October 20, 2018October 24, 2018Leave a comment

Welcome to our site.

Let us begin by getting some pleasantries out of the way and introducing ourselves. We are Linn & Nikki. We met whilst travelling a few years ago in Thailand and have managed to keep our friendship ever since (I guess it’s true when they say that you never forget your travel buddies…)

It is through this borderless and longstanding friendship that our idea started, an idea to create an open platform where we share everything that we love, admire and enjoy about life; to immortalise our treasure trove of myriad pleasures.

Here you will find our style, love for clothes, our fondness for reading, our attachment for travelling and anything and everything else in between. We hope that you enjoy them as much as we do.

Love,

L&N xx