Thinking out Loud #3

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1. I miss a ToL last week. I wasn't expecting to but the day slowly came to an end as did my motivation so I just told myself that I'll just pick up as soon as I feel like it. Which was last night after my guitar lesson was cancelled. Anyway, enough rambling about events that led to other events!

2. My college starts next week and I want to know if I'm the only one who thinks about upcoming events like starting college solidly all day from the week before? I'm serious! From the moment I stop talking to someone I will think about college. I'm not exactly nervous but rather excited (if I'm honest I don't really understand why I'm excited either) and I think I'm over thinking too much because I'm not really sure what it will be like. I mean I've been off school for like 10 weeks and it's going to be hard changing my routine, you know?

3. I crave feel good songs daily so much that I usually get bored of them quickly from listening to that one song only. Common problem, right? Well, Verbal Jint and Sanchez's song 'Doin' it' is one of those songs so I was super pumped when they released a new song.

I love Sanchez's kind of imitation of Michael Jackson's voice (You are my Fav O RIT-a AC! cident) along with the funky guitar makes this my favourite ;)...

4. I also just want to share with you what I have been baking this week, which was super easy can I just say?

May I present to you home made Jammy Dodgers! I actually haven't had one of those delicious sandwiched biscuits in way too long but these certainly made me want to buy some.... or just make another batch of these. As you can see I slightly over filled them with butter cream and jam so they look proper rustic!

But these really are so simple because you just get an easy plain biscuit recipe (maybe add a drop of vanilla extract but they are just as good without), bake them for less than 10 minutes, prepare store bought butter cream and jam or even better - make it yourself then sandwich together and viola! Simple as simple does.

5. Finally, I realised that once I posted what was in drafts it motivated me to actually post them instead of keeping them hidden for an extra 2 months so I think I will give you another sneaky peek at some pictures that will feature in posts to come.

Stay tuned if you want to know how these pictures are relevant to anything and see you next time!
- Zin

Lifestyle Blog: Where I've Been - Leeds

Where have I been? Leeds! And it was such a beautiful Sunday morning that I think it will be stuck in my mind as one of my most favourite days this year.

A pale blue sky with wispy white clouds as the sun slowly shrank the shadows on the buildings. It was picture perfect, however I came to Leeds with my Dad who does not like to hang around resulting in limited photos of the picturesque scene that surrounded me.

After finding out the art gallery and city museum were both closed at 9:40am on a Sunday morning, we went for breakfast at a Caffe Nero. 

Now let me tell you that this apricot croissant with orange juice was truly bliss. I have recently moved to favouring Caffe Nero out of all of the chain café's (and I'm not going to mention which one it has replaced).

After the city museum trip, we moved to the art gallery which had a Terry Frost exhibition. His art is very hard to describe but the example above will hopefully help you to visualise his other pieces. 

The art work is very much just shapes of paint sometimes featuring other elements such as pencil (e.g the one above). The title of the artwork gives you more of an insight as to why he painted what he did. 

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the piece above and there was no luck in searching the internet for it but there was a similar piece with a name involving winter. In this case you would be able to tell that the connection to winter is that there white, grey and black colours prominent in winter.

 After all the brain work and walking we went to the gallery cafe, The Titled Hall, for lunch. I absolutely love it in there even though I sometimes suffer from a bit of agoraphobia (fear of large spaces, you may get a bit of an idea from the pictures below if you have never been).

The tiled walls and ceiling is really what I love about the hall that leads to the library because it offers such beauty. The architecture also impressive and offers such a beautiful atmosphere. If I lived in Leeds I would undoubtedly visit this cafe at the drop of a hat.

Afterwards, we walked around some shops but our time was up in Leeds all too quickly so we headed back to catch a train home.

I hope this lifestyle blog has been somewhat interesting as the one I have done and I might do one for my trip for London so watch this space!
- Zin

What to Wear With High Waisted Shorts

Is this the first time I'm posting a picture of myself? I think it is. Anyway. I recently bought these super amazing high waisted shorts from New Look in the sale, known as 'hotpants'. They will probably not be available any more but here is some inspiration for what to where with high waisted shorts (because it can be a bit of a challenge sometimes).

In the case that someone wants to know what I am wearing with the shorts then the details are on the picture below however both the socks and shoes are unlikely to be available but both shops still sell similar items.

In an attempt to try and distract you from my bright white legs, I'm wearing an even brighter white plain tee. Actually, that's not the reason I'm wearing it. I'm wearing it because it makes the outfit have a minimalist look and compliments the shade of blue of the shorts perfectly. It also allows you to add accessories and style the outfit with whatever you want. For example, this leather jacket.

Next is a top that I'm using as an example (wink wink), any top of any colour as long as it comes down to almost the bottom of the shorts will work. I think this style is really cute, looks relaxed and is a perfect summer look.
















To switch this outfit up a bit, tuck the front in! I have mentioned this before, tucking the front in adds a cool and chilled vibe to an outfit. ( Why do the words 'cool' and 'chilled' make me feel like I'm trying to connect myself with the youth when I am the youth? Anyway....)

Another top that requires 0.1% effort is a crop top and can act as the centre piece of an outfit with high waisted shorts. Another plus is that you can buy that cute crop top you love and wear it confidently without having to worry about your tummy being seen if you don't want it to be.

So that's it! A few simple ways to wear tops with high waisted shorts and to get the most out of them before summer comes to an end which I am certainly not looking forward to. Also, I have been absolutely loving these shorts and matching outfits with them so I knew I just had to do a post including them.

- Zin x

Thinking Out Loud #2

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1. First and foremost, I have decided that my 'Thinking Out Loud' posts will be every other Thursday rather than once a week because it's a miracle if I post more than one thing in a week and I don't want all my posts to be this.

2. Ok. So! I have recieved my AS level results today (the first of two years of A levels) and they weren't terrible but I'm disappointed. And that means I will have a draft idea for a post on how to deal with disappointment for a month before I post it.

3. I have been meaning to listen to Birdy since I did a dance to 'Skinny Love' a few years ago with my dance club (did I mention I dance btw?). Anyway, I hated that song because of listening to it for hours on end with practising but I loved her voice and I could feel something behind the lyrics.

It was 2 nights ago when this song was played on the radio and I love everything about it. I even embarrassingly started to think about my celebrity crush *sigh*

4. Believe it or not I have never made brownie's before. So I made them. It was this morning actually to take my mind off from my AS results and look. at this.

I know. It was super tasty, fudgy and everything I could ask for in a brownie, including walnuts. Good news for me as well: I have some walnuts and chocolate left over. We all know what that means.

5. What posts are in my drafts do I hear you ask? Well here is a sneak peak, one of which you may have seen if you are following me on my instagram.

6. One last thing and I know this ToL post might not have been very interesting or exciting (to be honest it just feel like a to-do list to me, but then again the point of Thinking out Loud is to think out loud....). I am going to London tomorrow and will try to account my trip in a post and should be
posted in the next few weeks, so please anticipate it! I know I am certainly anticipating my trip to London tomorrow!!!

Like I said, this feels like it is lacking a bit in a few areas but I hope this was somewhat entertaining at least and enjoyed this post
- Zin

Casual Summer Outfit from Zara

Casual Summer Outfit from Zara by zin-s featuring a pearl necklace

Styling in summer is often a struggle. Unlike the other seasons, all colours
are usually in style. Pastels, patterns, blocks and bolds can be seen on the
street but for this post I'm going to focus on a minimalist and simplistic look
that will keep you cool in the non-existent British summer heat.

I have also chosen all items from Zara because it is a shop that I have, only
recently, really started to love.

Firstly white shorts. Shorts are a great start to any outfit and it's so hard to go
wrong with them even in spring and autumn. In this outfit, the plain white
shorts act as a compliment to the most busiest item in this look - the shirt.
There are three ways you can style the shirt with the shorts;

1. Tuck it in at the front. I love doing this as it makes an outfit look
   casual and effortless
2. Tuck it in loosely all the way round. This can sometimes make you
   look like a farmer so be really satisfied with the way it looks before
   stepping out the house!
3. Leave it all un-tucked! Because the shirt being long it can act as a
   dress and cover the shorts, however, they are underneath and will
   help you to still feel confident if the shirt was to reveal your shorts.

(btw, I go through these three steps with any outfit if I feel it doesn't look
quite right. It's a great start to styling your outfits!)

Next, the shirt! It's loose, it's thin, it's bold but not too eye catching and it's
perfect for a summer outfit. You can try styling this with jeans and skirts as
well because I think this is a great all-rounded shirt.

For this outfit, the shoes and the bag should be white or a similar blue to
the shirt but you don't want something bolder than the shirt. The shoes and
bags I chose will give the outfit a perfect vibe for a city sight-seeing or
shopping trip.

Finally, I picked an ear cuff (with earrings) and a bracelet which will make the
outfit look a bit more girly and feminine whilst adding a perfect 'cherry on top'
to the outfit.

I hope you can pick up some style tips from this post 

- Zin