The Fault in Our Stars: Book Review

First thing I'd like to say is, SPOILERS IN THIS POST!

So, recently I read The Fault in Our Stars. To be completely honest with you, it.broke.my.heart. In many ways the book was witty, hilarious, and completely and utterly heartbreaking. This book is by far one of the most amazing books I've read because it's not just a story of a girl who finds a boy and falls in love, the end. No, this book isn't like that.

I think that books are very personal to people, and many people take them in different ways. Let me explain, if you can relate to a book, you open your mind to the characters and story more so than someone who doesn't relate to it. I'm not saying I have cancer, but if anyone has gone through health problems, the characters in this book can word terrible situations better than any counselor.

I found that I could relate to many thoughts and personality traits of Hazel's. It was amazing to see a girl go to a support group with no intentions of making friends, and then see her fall in love with Augustus from the first time they see each other. *Sigh*, so perfect...

You will probably see other reviews comparing this book's story to Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember. Initially, I compared the two stories too because there are quite alot of similarities, but I've only watched A Walk to Remember and have never read it so I don't think I have the right to completely compare them. But, I thought that Hazel and Gus had more of a connection because they were both broken and sick, although Gus had no cancer when they first met. If only it had stayed that way...

'It lit up like a Christmas Tree Hazel Grace...'

Can I just say, that line was a killer. After all this time, Hazel was the one resisting Augustus because she thought she'd be the first one to go, but then the plot twist came. I found the twist definitely a soul crusher, but John Green didn't just throw down the grenade at once so it wasn't as terrible as it could of been, but it was pretty bad.

It was so sad to see perfect Gus get so sick and helpless when he was getting to the end. You can't help but feel Hazel's heart break...

I read the majority of this book on the subway, so I couldn't cry without people thinking I'm a total weirdo, but when I finished it today and came home, I couldn't help it and I cried. I've never cried while reading books before, but this one, wow, this one I have to say really grabs on to your heart.

I could go on and on about this book for hours but I'll stop this review here. So, in conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a novel about true love and real pain. You get so close to the characters in this book, that you laugh with them, cry with them, and fall in love with them too. It's a truly beautiful story that won't leave your head even when you turn the last page. In the end, true love isn't just receiving a rose on Valentine's Day, but being there for each other until the very, very end.



xoxo Jelly 

Fear in the heart of a teen

It's the start of a new school year, everyone's trying hard to get back into routine and waking up out of their summer daze. The first day is always the scariest, especially if your the new kid or haven't been to school in a while because you home-schooled. For me, I'm the latter. I've been homeschooling for the past two years due to the fact that my family likes to travel. So today is my first day back part time, because I'm still doing a few courses online. Anyway, I know how scary school can be. There are pressures, fears, and just the overall stress of getting the work done. I'm not going to sugar coat it, schools tough. Here's a bit of advice.

Be nice. Be the best person that you can be. Honestly, this is very important. Just be good to people, help others. That new kid who's too shy to talk to anyone, invite them to join your group of friends. That nerdy kid that everyone hates, show him some kindness. I'm not talking about being perfect or not standing up for yourself because you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. No, I'm talking about not being mean, and not joining in on bullying someone just because everyone else is doing it. Trust me, If you're a good person, the less people have to talk about behind your back.

Don't be afraid about being yourself. Who cares what other people think? Plus, people think a lot less about you than you think. Just don't go out of your way resulting in getting unwanted attention. School sucks, so why not make the best of it by doing what you love. If you love chess, join the chess club. If you love to act, join the drama class. Don't worry about what people think about you, because as soon as you graduate, no one is going to care. That's another thing, you can't carry popularity out into the real world. When you graduate, no one cares if you were the most popular or prom queen. So don't strive to be popular. It's not worth it in the end.

Try new things. Break from your go-to friend group and try hanging out with other people once and a while. Or invite other people in if your more comfortable with that. Sign up for the yearbook committee or some cool after school club. You could even start your own if you want. Just find ways to make the best out of your high school years.

This next one connects is all of them. Don't let fear ruin your life. Don't miss out on doing something great just because your worried about what other people think, or that it might crash and burn. You never know until you try.

Stay lovely,
Dixie xox

p.s There's this nice girl who runs a blog about lots of different things, she's pretty cool so go check her out.
http://ivivvivi.blogspot.ca

Back To School Series: Friends & Conflicts

So, one of the biggest parts of school is friends. You sit with them at lunch, have classes with them, and pretty much for the whole day, you're surrounded by them. There has always been a moment for us, where we feel like we haven't had a friend by our side that truly is honest, down to earth, and caring. My mentality is, it's better to be alone than to be surrounded by people who don't respect you. I can't imagine hanging out with people who bring me down, and don't have a second to listen to how I feel. So, as the new school year is rolling around the corner, keep in mind that you are you for a reason and if people don't respect that, then walk away.

No matter how close you are with a friend, there can be a situation that tests your friendship. Sometimes you need to step back, remember that your friendship is worth more than a fight, and make up. At the end of the day, friends are there for a reason.

I believe that people who enter my life are there for a specific reason that I may not know at the time, but looking back, I realize what a difference they made. Wether that difference is good or bad, the effect it makes on me will be nothing but positive. When someone brings you down, it will only make you stronger. But, if you fight back, you become the same person as them. You have the decision in every situation, to fight or to step back and forgive. Now think, who's the bigger person?

Over the span of elementary, middle, and high school, some of my friends have come and gone. It's so natural for friends to slowly drift apart. Interests change, hobbies change, and priorities change. Everything happens for a reason. It may seem terrible at the time, but in time, things will change and so will your perspective.


I hope you have a great school year! Remember to be the bigger person! 

xoxo Jelly

DIY Hipster Bedroom

Lets face it, as much as I hate being like everyone else, the whole hipster thing is pretty cool. Especially when it comes to bedroom decor. Even before this kind of style was popular, I always wanted to litter my walls with photos and pictures and fairy lights. I'm still in the process of decorating, it's coming on very slowly though. This is a picture of the quote I currently have, it's a line from an Ed Sheeran song called Grade 8. I'm going to just give you guys some ideas on how you can transform your bedroom on a low budget!

• Fairy lights. You can string these around your room. Above the bed looks very pretty, or against a mirror. Multicoloured ones or regular ones, depending on your taste. These can be expensive, so I usually wait till after Christmas to buy them when they're no longer in season and on sale. 
• Photo wall. Anything from logo's, flags and magazine pictures, to concert tickets, posters, drawings, and your own photography. Sticky tack works great for the thicker, slightly heavier items. Clear tape works nicely for the magazine pictures and printed out photos. This is my favorite part because you can dig through that junk drawer of yours and find cool things to put up. If you don't have magazine pictures you want to rip out, you can always print things off of the computer. Pinterest is great for finding cool quotes and funky pictures to put up. 
• Cork/Pin board. You can pick a cheep one up at the dollar store or Staples. I painted mine black and hot glued different coloured buttons around the edges for a unique look. This is also a memory board, so letters, postcards, photos, and notes are the things to go on here.
• Paper lanterns. You can make your own or pick some up at the dollar store or Micheal's. 
• Random items like dream catchers are easy to make. Wind chimes or paper cranes on a string are also very cool.
• Vases with flowers. Real or fake, they still add colour and can make the room smell nice. Try spritzing perfume on the fake ones ever so often to give some scent to them.
• Shelving. Anything to put your knick knacks on, like books or figures.
• Nice bedding, curtains, pillows. I would pick some colours that you want, and carry it out through the whole room. I like my bedding a solid colour, then patterned pillows. 
• Wall quotes. Like mine in the picture above, I just cut them out of magazines. You can use stencils if you have them, but I think it looks better when they don't all match. Keep in mind that this does take a while if you want it to look good. It probably took me a good hour and a half to cut and put up. It's totally worth it though.
• Glow in the dark stickers. Those cool little stars you that you can stick to the ceiling are super fun. Just remember that they do glow quite bright, so if you like sleeping in the dark, I wouldn't recommend them.
• Hanging rack. This one's pretty self explanatory. 
• Mirrors. I have a giant one in my room that I like to decorate with posters and window paint I got at the craft store. It's also really cool if you take red lipstick and write something inspiring on your bathroom mirror to make you feel good in the morning.
• Photo sting. Hang some string across an area of your room, and use clothing pins to clip your photography to it. It looks extra cool if you hang fairy lights in between.
• Records. Take a trip to your local thrift store and search through their record bins. Pick some cool ones and try to re-vamp them. Buy some sticky jewels and colour them with sharpies to make them pretty. 

The whole idea of a hipster/tumblr looking room is it's full of memories and shows off your personality. It seems like lots of people are doing it, but no two rooms are the same. Everyone has different taste. It's so much fun to personalize everything, weather it's with your favorite quotes or showing off your vintage camera collection. My biggest recommendation would be to travel to a thrift store and see what you can find. Good luck and let me know how your decorating goes!

Stay Lovely,

Dixie xox

p.s I'm on Pinterst and have boards with more ideas if you want to check me out. http://pinterest.com/starkite/boards/

Back To School: First Day

Hey everyone!

So it's almost time for school to start again! I will write tips for you to have a great first day back at school!

Supplies

Maybe a week or so before the first day of school, you should plan a shopping trip for supplies! Get a few binders for subjects, folders, lined paper, grid paper, pens, pencils, erasers, and other essential items that you need.

Clothes

The first day of school is always a 'big deal' ;) Always, always, and ALWAYS plan your outfit in advance! Leaving it for last minute may end in disaster. Don't overdue your outfit and makeup, keep it simple, clean, and fresh! You don't want a wardrobe malfunction during the middle of the day!

Makeup

Keep makeup simple, and cute. Some champagne coloured eyeshadow, a thin layer of eyeliner, curled lashes with a fine coat of mascara, a little bit of blush maybe, and gloss on the lips will look make your face natural, glowing, and youthful!

Confidence

This is the category I need the most help with, every year! Just don't think about how you can embarrass yourself, because even if something goes wrong, just laugh it off! Before you walk in that door, lift your head, smile, and strut your way into that school!!!

School is always intimidating, especially when you're the new kid! But, every year so many memories are made and new friends help you along the way! Be strong, and believe in yourself. You are you for a reason :) Keep smiling!

xoxo Jelly

In the Spotlight

Today there are tons of different magazines out there full of stories and gossip about famous people. Most of those stories are made up though, just something to capture your attention. While they have it, they'll tell you all sorts of nasty things about celebs to keep you reading. It very smart when you think about it, because who can resist reading the covers of the tabloids while you wait in line to pay for your groceries? Not me. Even if the headlines are completely bizarre, it still gets my attention making me want to read more.

The sad part is, most of us all love to read about the stupid things other people do. We like to make fun of them for being so dumb, or laugh at their mistakes and misfortune. There's always that part of us that wants to feel better than other people, so by reading the tabloids you're feeding that hunger. It's kind of like high school. You have the popular people who you secretly make fun of for being fake, when you do the same things except you're not in the spot light. People don't pay attention to your mistakes as closely as those who are popular because everyone's eyes are on them.

Celebrities are normal people who make mistakes just like the rest of us. The only difference is that everyone is watching them, and not you. How could you cope with that? Knowing full well you're always being photographed, always being surveyed. You have to be very careful on what you say and what you do, because one wrong move or a slip of words and you're on the cover of People magazine. So celebrities have the same issues non-celebs do. Drug addictions, divorce, etc. One of the worst parts is that sometimes they have to do crazy things to get them into the tabloids so they can stay popular.

For example, the Jonas Brothers. They we're a hot boy band a few years ago, making regular appearances in the magazines and that whole thing. Then they break up and still stay in the magazines. Kevin gets married and all of a sudden drops off the radar. Now how often do you talk about Kevin, or any of the brothers for that matter? Not very often, I'm guessing. If they made a comeback it would be very hard to get back to where they were because they didn't stay in the magazines. They didn't stay a hot topic for people to talk about and now they're not even close to being popular anymore. People loose interest when there's nothing to talk about.

What I hate is when people bash celebs for their screw ups. Like the whole thing going around about Justin Bieber smoking weed at a party. All of a sudden it's like the worst thing possible. But really, it's not. There's probably tons of kids at your school who smoke weed and don't get a hard time for it because they're not a celebrity. Or people thinking Harry Styles is a womanizer because of the made up stories in the tabloids. I mean you never really know what's true or not unless the person confirms it themselves in an interview. Otherwise it's just some adults sitting around a table making stories up about what crazy things the Kardashian's are supposedly doing.

My point is, celebrities are normal people stuck in the spot light 24/7. They do they same things we do, only they have people waiting for them to screw up so they can write about it, and if not, they make it up. So next time you read a magazine, remember that most of it's made up. That's why I always watch interviews instead to see what they actually said verses what people thought they said.

Stay lovely and sorry for my rant,
Dixie xox

Summertime Essentials

Here we are, halfway through the summer. I don't know about you, but where I live it's crazy hot. One step outside and you're basically melting. Honestly, it's nice to lounge around the pool side, or hit the waves at the beach. They're both nice ways to beat the heat. Then there's always that summer day where it's cloudy and raining, thundershowers and lightning taking over the sky. Those are my favorite summer days. You can just curl up inside with your fluffy sweaters and socks watching the rain pour down outside. It's always so relaxing.

Let's go back to those wicked hot days where you're left melting on the sidewalk. Those are the days where I'm most carefree in the summer, because I don't need to worry about how I look. Not like when you're going to school and your wearing that carefully chosen outfit you picked out the night before. Always worrying about how your hair looks or if your makeup has smudged. No, in the summer it's a no makeup, hair tied back, sun screened up look for the most part. It's pointless to dress to impress when you go to the beach. Those girls who spend the time to wash their hair, do their makeup, and put together an outfit are the ones who don't have as much fun. They can't go swimming because their hair and makeup with be ruined, and they can't lay in the sun because then they'll get all sweaty. There are some things you do need to do before going to the beach. Like shaving your legs and other places. Or making sure your bathing suit fits. But really, it's way more fun when you can go swimming without worrying about the hair and makeup.

Let's add some boys in here because they were bound to come up sooner or later. Guy's like girls who can be carefree and and have fun. Girls who aren't fussing over their appearance all the time. Girls who can just have a good time and be themselves. Yes, guys do like when girls get dressed up too. But for the appropriate times, not when your about to head to the beach. Bottom line is, don't worry about how you look all the time. It's a distraction from the things you could be focusing on.

When I'm going to the beach, I make sure I wear sunscreen. Even if you hardly ever get burnt, it's still a good idea to keep the harsh rays off your skin. I wouldn't recommend wearing water proof makeup because no matter what anyone says, it's not that water proof. You still get those pesky flakes from your mascara, plus it shortens your lashes. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Concealer will still slowly come off. What I do if I'm going boating or to the beach is I put on sunscreen, then powder with sunscreen in it, and a setting spray to top it all off.  I'll curl my lashes too. Then during those days when I'm just out in the sun I'll wear BB cream with sunscreen in it. It's not water proof at all, but it just helps make your skin glow along with giving you protection against the sun. I like to french braid my hair before going tubing, because I hate having my hair being whipped around into one big knot. My beach hair is just a messy bun.

What do you like to do during the summer? What's your usual summer make-up routine?

Stay Lovely,
Dixie xox