85. Black Friday Goodies

I couldn't resist and bought two more things yesterday.

Industrial looking bracelet with turquoises accents. I think it would look really cool when paired with an all black outfit.

Some much needed hand therapy for my dry, dry hands. I used to really like Crabtree & Evelyn's Rosewater, but ever since they came out with Evelyn Rose, I've been won over. Rosewater is more on the sweet side, whereas Evelyn Rose is fragrant without it being overwhelming and there's a light bitter undertone. Plus, it smells more mature and lady-like to me.

84. Black Friday at Chapters

I splurged yesterday online at Chapter's and now I'm all set for anyone's birthday that suddenly pops up! Admit it, I bet you do it too. Anyways, part of my purchase has been shipped and I can't wait until they all get here! I'll just show what is on it's way, and once I get another email from Chapters saying the rest of my stuff has been shipped, I'll reveal more of what I bought! I'm so excited!! I love getting packages in the mail!

1. Makassar's scented candle in Ebony & Peach
2. Voluspa's scented candle in Mokara
3. Voluspa's scented candle in French Cade & Lavender
4. Flower and lace embossed leather journal

I actually received Voluspa's Mokara as an early Christmas present from a friend and truthfully, I don't like lighting candles, especially ones with an overwhelming scent even when it's not lighted. Because my friend knew this, she got me Mokara, which is light scented, so I usually just leave the lid open so there is some of it's light, classy scent, but not enough to overwhelm me. I really like it and the decorative tin it comes in is gorgeous. I love patterns (as you probably already know) and anything that's pretty, classy, sophisticated (without breaking the budget of course). 

83. What Made Me Happy Today #1

Although I had a somewhat bad start to the day (I saw someone I would rather not see), it immediately got better as I got to see an old classmate. I hardly recognized him because of Movember so that was a nice surprise. Also, because I only had one class today, I was able to have a break for myself before my club event. I watched a few YouTube videos (like Arthur) and ate Tonkatsu. It was good, except now I have to go buy more sauce for it. Afterwards, I caught the bus back to the University and headed to the event venue. Once I helped set up, I went to the door to help with the registration table. Unfortunately, not many people came as we had anticipated so that was quite a big letdown. But, we got over it pretty fast since we did have some people show up! Whatever, more food for the rest of us! Consequently, we all played games and stuffed ourselves with sugar - it was a good night.

I think I will try to do more of these What Made Me Happy Today entries seeing as how my Thank Friday series did not work out as I wanted. But for WMMHT, it will be difficult to do everyday, but I will most definitely try!

* Picture accompaniment not guaranteed sadly.

82. Inspired by Ikea

Where I live, there's this bench/shelf-like thing underneath our P.O. boxes, and someone put a whole bunch of the 2014 Ikea catalog there so I took one to look through when I want to procrastinate. As I was flipping through the pages, I came across this very comfy and girly looking arrangement and tagged the page for possible future inspiration. And yesterday, bored out of my mind, decided to freehand ink it.

81. Cooking on a Budget

"University is expensive." I'm sure most of us can agree to that. Not only are there tuition to pay, but there is also textbooks, food, and board. Let's not forget the application and admission fees as well. They just seem to be extorting money whenever and however possible. With so much of students' money going towards all these big fees and hidden overhead fees, how can we still have a fulfilling meal that's enough to keep us going through those long nights of studying (or cramming)? Fear not, there is a quick and simple solution I am about to show you.

The answer to your questions will be answered, and the solution is: soup. Ever since the beginning of the school term, I have discovered just how versatile simple cups of water and a few ingredients are. With the right seasonings, this soup will be highlight of your breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner!

The best thing about this "recipe", is that there is no restrictions or specific measurements. You can adjust it however you want and use anything you like. But, for this post, I will show you how I usually make my soup, as well as the Secret Formula I have trial-and-error-ed over and over again to find that perfect balance. Let's not waste anymore time.

1. First things first, boil water on whatever heat setting you want (if you can prepare the ingredients fairly quickly, put the setting on high, if not, then put the setting on low).

2. Next, prepare the ingredients:
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Baby Bok Choy
- Bean Sprouts
- Mushrooms

3. Wash, peel, and dice to bite sized pieces.

Tip: Do not use green potatoes. They are poisonous and may give you food poisoning, and if consumed in large quantities, you will have an outer-world experience (ie. death).

So, chuck all the green potatoes away!

4. Once the water has boiled, chuck everything in the pot except the bean sprouts (unless you like mushy bean sprouts) and wait until it boils again.

5. In the meantime, you can get the Secret Formula (spices and sauces) ready:
- Ground pepper
- Salt
- Sesame Oil
- Vinegar

6. Once the water has boiled again, put a tablespoon of each in and adjust to taste. For the vinegar, a little goes a long way, so you don't need to put more than a tablespoon in.

7. After that, add in the bean sprouts and turn the heat off after a minute or two.

8. Then it is ready to be served. I like to have rice with my soup.

Not only is the soup healthy (no oil needed!), it is also super simple to prepare and is ready in 15 ~ 20 minutes. All these ingredients are pretty cheap and can be bought at your local grocery stores. You do not have to stick to the ingredients shown - play around and discover your own perfect Formula!

Some suggestions for other ingredients are:
- Tofu (for some protein)
- Noodles (substitute for rice)
- Eggs (more protein)

Now you know how to cook a simple, yet delicious and healthy meal on a budget. Enjoy!

80. How to Achieve Everlasting Friendship

If only I knew.

I know how to make friends and keep them, but it takes experience - not a guide - to tell you how to pick out the bad seeds from the good seeds. But, in this day and age with our amazing technology, it wouldn't be too difficult to search up some pointers at least. So, these are some of my pointers on how to make, keep, and sort friends based on my own experiences.

Once upon a time, when I was still Little Milly, I was very naive and trusted all those I met and befriended, smiling at them everyday and worrying about their problems. However, after a few incidents, that all changed. I became more cautious when making friends and smiled only for those that deserved it. I also stopped wasting my energy on other people's problems, but concentrated more on those most important to me and helped them in their time of need. But, how did I do it?

Well, remember during kindergarten when the teacher would say "keep your hands and feet to yourself"? Similar to that, the more "adult" version of it, as I see it, is "treat others how you want to be treated". This is also known as the "Golden Rule", or "ethic of reciprocity" (according to our dear friend Wikipedia anyways).

I am sure you have heard of this many, many times, but it is not just that Golden Rule you need to follow. There are also other things you must keep in mind in order to have that friend who was like a twin sister/brother that never was.

1. Value their opinions. Don't force your own opinions or beliefs onto them. You might think it's right, but everyone has different points of view. Instead, you should try to understand it from their perspective, or "be in their shoes" (in other words, listen). This may take some time and practice, but in the end, will not only make you a better friend, but a better and understanding individual as well.

2. Always make an effort to maintain the relationship. Even if they may seem as close as family to you, you still need to make an effort to ask how their day was. Like in any relationship, if someone gets too comfortable and stops putting in an equal amount of effort, then that relationship will slowly start to crumble as the affection wears off because of this comfort. This leads to the next point:

3. Never take your friendship for granted. Once you start taking your friend(s) for granted, I will guarantee you, it will fall apart for obvious reasons, some of which have already been mentioned. Once you start taking someone for granted, then that means you have set expectations on them, and when they fail this expectation you have arbitrarily put on them, you will be the one to complain, to criticize, and overall, start to develop a negative attitude towards them because of this expectation you built yourself.

There are lots more pointers, but then the list would go on and on, leading to similarities with others, so I will end it here. These are the "rules" I go by when maintaining my friendship, which also helps me develop them into a tighter and stronger bond. This pointers also helped me before in choosing whether or not a friend was worth keeping. Like how you should follow these pointers to treat your friends, it should also apply to your friends as well. If it is all just one-sided, I would not consider that a well-balanced friendship (and you may just be taken advantage of). Ultimately, the choice is up to you and how you want to live your life surrounded by either happiness, content-ness, or bad seeds. It is all up to you (no pressure).

P.S. After using these pointers (and some more) and you find that perfect soul mate, putting a ring on it would be wise. Or, in this case, a soul-friend and a bracelet. Here is mine and my best friend/roommate's that we bought today:

(Gold infinity sign bracelet from Aldo Accessories)

It is optionally to use materialistic objects to show friendship, but it is quite fun. Nevertheless, if you don't want to do that, you can still do other things together. For example, cooking a meal together, going on an outing together, or maybe even bungee jump together. The keyword is doing things together. Only are you together, will you discover more things about each other and learn to either accept them or reject them.