B&W Firsts

This year, I've done a lot more exploring than I've done in a while.  I must admit, I love it a lot.

Here's a little compilation of my explorations in black and white:

Jamaica for the first time

First time in the craziest book store 

In line for a new concert

First time on a plane with friends

First MoMA experience

  

Kate Nash and D. Wing

puddle walking in creepers… first and last time

roller skating in a new part of town

-Matéa

Exploration of Vegan Eating

As I'm sure you all know, this month's topic is on exploration. For my article, I decided to write up on my exploration of vegan eating. Personally, I'm mostly pescatarian, so I decided to take it a step up and explore eating vegan for one week. 

vegan |ˈvēgən, ˈvejən|

noun

a person who does not eat or use animal products: I'm a strict vegan | [ as modifier ] : a vegan diet.

Being vegan means not eating animals as well as animal products. That means no (cow/goat/etc) milk, honey, eggs, etc.

Although I only ate this way for a week, I felt that it taught me a lot. It helped me especially realize, "what are we putting into our bodies?" as well as having benefits I instantly noticed; high energy, eating healthier, and being more food smart. 

Eating this way kept me constantly energized (more so than eating how I did before) and after eating, I never felt gross. It made me aware of the things I was putting into my body, and what the heck is in the processed food we eat? Whenever I had to try eating something, the main components of my meals were always fruits and veggies. I never felt sluggish. 

Some observations I made was that finding packaged things was difficult. A lot of things would have hidden ingredients in them, like powdered milk / egg etc. Because of this, I ate a lot more natural/clean/raw food which I think largely contributed to feeling so amazing. Because I had to think about what I was eating, it helped cut out mindless snacking. Looking at the ingredients in things closely too made me realize what on earth are we eating and putting into our bodies?! The majority of ingredients were unpronounceable. 

There were some negatives to eating vegan though. Eating out in restaurants was difficult. I received negative criticism of my decision from peers at school (and even my family, at times!) Finding food in the grocery store was difficult, and often the prices were ridiculously overpriced and had a massive difference between that of the non-vegan foods. 

At the end of my experience, my mom mentioned how she noticed while I was eating vegan, I was being so much more mindful and interested in the things I was putting into my body. 

Over the weekend, me and my mom took a trip to the LettuceLove Cafe in downtown Burlington. (Ontario, Canada). The restaurant is 100% vegan and gluten free, as is the bakery also owned by the same people around the corner. They had a diverse, lovely looking menu. I ordered the "Goddess Bowl" which was insanely delicious. My mom ordered the "Grilled Portobello Sandwich" and we shared avocado fries. We also got a cupcake, brownie, and cookies from the bakery. The food was so delicious and flavourful. 

    

If you have the ability I highly suggest checking your city for a vegan restaurant! 

Overall, I think this experience was a big success and made me much more aware of my food consumption. Because of my current living situation, I will continue being pescatarian for now, but I'm going to try and cut dairy out of my diet more and will probably do occasional weeks of vegan eating. 

If you're looking to try new foods, just want a healthy eating experience, or are interested in both the health and moral benefits of eating vegan, I definitely suggest trying eating vegan for a week. You won't regret it!

Some awesome vegan eaters to check out:

Essena O'Neill - Ally Sheehan - Freelee the Banana Girl - Ellen Fischer 

Check out this tumblr I set up for some yummy vegan recipes! (grapefruit-slices.tumblr.com) (Suuuupppaaaa easy!) 

- ♡ Alex ♡ 

Introduction: A Cooking Class From the Past

Recently while trailing through my home in search of trinkets to display in my room, I stumbled upon a floral green box marked "Recipes". It was a very vintage box, and it was filled with guess what? Recipes. Apparently, they belong to my great grandmother, and they are a collection of all the recipes she ever made throughout her life. Some are magazine clippings, recipes from scratch, and even some family traditions, which made me think that this box was definitely a recipe for exploration. Many people around the world have boxes just like mine, with recipes from people just like my great grandma, and in this feature I plan to add to the mag, I want to explore them all. So, each month I or someone else from the magazine is going to make a dish using a recipe from the past. I can't guarantee that they will all be winners, but I can guarantee that they'll be a lot of fun for you and for us to explore. So, find your own old recipes and dig in! Explore the past and explore your appetite.

Happy Eating, Laurel

Book Recommendations for the Month of May

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking." -Haruki Murakami

It's true that books offer lots and lots of different perspectives, but the most important one that they offer is your own. When you sit and read a book you either like what it says and what it talks about, or you don't. Or maybe you're somewhere in between, and you like one thing about it but not something else. You may never have thought about it, but really, when you like and hate and feel all and any emotions towards aspects of a book, you're telling yourself something about yourself. And if that's the case, then when you read books you're embarking on an exploration of yourself. So, as May is exploration month, I thought I would share a few book recommendations to get your exploration going. 

"Journey of Awakening: A Meditators Guidebook" by Ram Dass

Now, I know that this seems like a strange thing to read. Many of you are probably thinking that you don't meditate, and you aren't interested in meditation. Well, neither was I. I didn't meditate when I started reading this book, and I don't meditate now. Strange, right? But it's not, and here's why. Although this book is technically about meditation, it focuses so much more on simply life than on any meditation techniques or methods. I found this book in my grandfather's library back when we were clearing out his things shortly after he passed. I was able to choose any books I wanted, and I chose this one as one of them for some reason unknown to me now. Well, eventually, I got around to reading this book. I just picked it up off my shelf and thought "I'll take a stab at this book now." Why? I don't know. But what I do know is that it was honestly a great book. Ram Dass focuses on life at its core, and the real things we desire out of it. Although he does touch on meditation at least once or twice a chapter, the overall feel of the book is not that of a guide book but rather an introspective journey. It gets you thinking about yourself, your life, and your wants and needs, and it offers a spiritual perspectives from all religions. So, if you ever wonder about yourself, read this book to find the answers. And who knows, maybe you'll find a newfound interest in meditation! (Although I still haven't found that, yet.)


"In Praise of Love" by Alain Badiou

I read this book back at the beginning of the year, and I still remember most of it today. And my memory is absolutely terrible, so that should say something about how amazing of a book it is. It's a short one, but I'll say that it is incredibly interesting. In keeping with the theme of the month, it is an exploration of love. Sounds like a big topic, right? How could anyone explore love in depth in what you've just been told is a short book? I'm still trying to figure out how Badiou did it, but it's been done. He sums everything up simply and yet in depth, and he never skips a beat on telling it like it is. This book is perfect for anyone who cares about love in any way shape or form, or just gets curious from time to time.


I hope you give at least one of these books a chance and that all of you try to dive into the depths of your preferences and opinions through a mountain of books and enjoyment! Keep Reading x Laurel 

Exploring Nails and Rings

Since this months theme is Exploration i thought i would make a post on exploring a few minor parts of fashion so you can stand out and hopefully this will influence you to step out of your normal drab fashion habits and explore something new! I picked two things to focus on today which are your nails and bling!

Nail Care
Instead of picking at your nails and biting them when you're bored, start taking pride in your nails. Here are some quick tips to keep your nails healthy and strong!

• Moisturise your hands often including your cuticles which will stop them from cracking and peeling
• Do not pull at hangnails (those annoying little bits of skin at the sides of your nail), instead gently cut them away as not to rip the cuticle. 
• Eat foods rich in Vitamin A such as apricots, broccoli, carrots and cheese. Drink a lot of fresh juice and water to keep your nails hydrated and prevent them from becoming brittle and dry. 
• Put nail hardener on your nails. It's just like a clear nail polish except it helps prevent your nails breaking. With your nails breaking less, your nails will grow longer. 

Once your nails are healthy and strong, you can shape them! Personally, at the moment I'm loving almond shaped nails as they elongate your hands and make you look feisty!



Once shaped you can apply colour! Here are some nail trends I'm loving at the moment

ALEXA CHUNG EYES


PLAIN BLACK


HEARTS




PASTELS


Accesorise; you can never have too much bling
At the moment double stacked rings and layering necklaces is right on trend, but a lot of people are too scared to try it as it seems a bit too out there. Be confident in what you wear and if wearing lots of rings and necklaces makes you feel good; wear them! Explore different ways of layering your necklaces to find something that is perfect!

This is @_belindaliana_ rocking this trend as daring to be different. Her layering of necklaces is eye catching against her plain tee and her rings are absolutely gorgeous. Quite a few of these pieces are from http://www.lovisa.com.au/. It has a lot of incredibly cheap jewellery and they have some really neat rings and necklaces.
Stay away from lots of chunky necklaces and instead use lots of fine necklaces with dainty little charms. You can find tons of these at etsy https://www.etsy.com/market/layered_necklace. The likes of Kate Moss and Kate Hudson and many more have already latched onto this rapidly growing trend.
  



Hope you guys enjoyed and remember to explore new trends and even look through your mums old jewellery and you never know, you might just find the perfect statement piece!

Olivia xxx